Parallel of Love and Madness
by nightshadowdark
Summary: The SSB tournament has always been a test of strength and power, but underneath its glamours lay secrets that would drive normal people mad. Ike now must realize that when it comes down to it there is a connection between love and madness.
1. Welcome to the Fight

**A/N: Hey guys, well, this is a new fic. It will be a full length one, similar to The Mark, so I will generally alternate between updating this story and The Mark. This is my first venture outside of the Pokémon series, but I thought it was an interesting concept, so I decided to go with it. Also, I am not keeping with the character's actual game lifestyle, mostly because I've never played Fire Emblem and Ike is kind of the main character…So don't worry about it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. **

"Get back here, thief!" a man shouted, his voice long, low, and threatening. A scrawny man, about 130 pounds sprinted through the town square of a small village market. He was carrying a bag full of precious jewels. He had rushed into a shop, pulled out a small knife and grabbed every precious stone and piece of jewelry he could grab, and then bolted out the door. He looked back to see the fat, old shopkeeper on one knee, panting heavily as he tried to catch up with the flighty youth. The thief smiled at how easy it had been to hit this one.

The burglar then turned his head back to the old dirt road. His feet pounded heavily on the rocks as they poked and prodded his exposed soles. He had been on the run for so long; the pain was withered away to nothing by his toughened body and spirit. The man stopped for a second to catch his breath as the village was now at least a mile behind him. He looked in the bag and smiled giddily at the treasure that was inside; it gleamed with the pleasant indulges he would be able to afford once he fenced everything.

"Tsk tsk tsk," a voice said behind the giddy male. The thief turned around and was greeted by a sword at least his height and by another man at least a head and a half higher than he was. The swordsman was standing proudly next to his golden-bronze sword, which he had thrust into the ground. His navy blue hair was spiked slightly and waved a little in the soft breeze running through the grassy plain they were in. He wore a pair of massive blue shoulder pads that made him look even bigger than his already well-toned muscles did. His white pants went along well with the armor as they allowed him more free-movement. "I expected better from the so-called, Master Thief of Jewels." Ike, the man holding the sword, said sarcastically. He smiled and his eyes met the thief's, a dare to try to run.

The Master Thief bit back a curse. Ike had a reputation as being one of the best mercenaries in the business. He had reportedly taken the very life of his own parents because someone had paid him enough. His sword, Aether, was a legendary blade in its own right, combined with Ike's natural skill; this was the one time the Thief was not sure he was going to make it out alive. "I…I'm n-not afraid o-o-of you," the Master Thief stated shakily.

"I might believe you, if I didn't see your knees shaking like a little pussy!" Ike taunted, baiting the man, trying to make him have to first strike. "Come on, let's see that poison knife you are so famous for, or is that just another myth…you know, kind of like the myth about you having a dick!" He sounded childish, but Ike was having too much fun to really care about that, and, his tactic was working.

"I've gotten out of worse situations than this!" Thief shouted, mostly to encourage himself in the face of certain defeat. He pulled out his eight-inch knife, stained green and dripping with poison, and sprinted, crazily, at Ike.

With reflexes like a cat, Ike pulled his sword from the ground with one hand and blocked the incoming knife. The larger sword easily overpowered the small knife and Ike was nearly twice the size of the Thief. He smiled and snapped his fingers. He felt a sort of power run through his hand holding Aether as the brilliant blade suddenly was engulfed in what could only be described as Hell's flames themselves. The flames did a wild dance as the red and orange tips sprang free from the main body and fizzled out in the open air. Meanwhile, near the blade itself, blue and white fire waited patiently, silently analyzing their prey. Ike grinned and then shot forward with unexpected speed and slammed into the Thief, swinging his sword as he made contact. The blade sliced open the man like he was butter and the flames singed his skin and the gray rags he called clothes.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Master Thief screamed as he felt his very skin melting from his bone. The pain was so intense, so searing, and so macabre that the man pulled his own knife, positioned it over his heart and prepared to stab. Ike was there first though; he put the flaming blade on Master Thief's chest, without the fire and stopped the knife dead in its tracks.

"No no no, you're my kill." With that, Ike slammed the Thief to his knees and with a mighty swing, decapitated him, staining the green grass a deep crimson. Ike's smile instantly disappeared. Now that his prey was dead, he could finally take off his guise of an insane killer, for it was just there to provoke fear in his targets. He collected the bad of gold and jewels, pulled a burlap sack out from a pouch on his chest and put Master Thief's head in it. He nodded, satisfied, and then nodded at a nearby bush. He turned towards the village and heard the tell-tale sign of a pack of wild dogs savoring the easy meal.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

"These are yours, I presume?" Ike asked solemnly to the sobbing shopkeeper. He picked up the bag with what he thought was filled with the gold and stones.

The storeowner looked into the bag and recoiled in horror as he saw the thief that had stole from him looking up at him, one eye opened, the other shut. "NO! THAT IS THE…UGH….THAT STOLE MY STUFF!"

Ike looked at the bag calmly. "I'm sorry, my mistake, these are yours." Ike switched hands and placed the heavy bag of treasure in the miserable shopkeeper's hands.

"Thank you, Ike is your name, correct?" Ike nodded. "Well then, thank you kindly Ike. It woulda taken forever to catch this guy. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing," Ike responded, "There's a bounty on this guy's head, and a fairly big one, and so if there is some sort of Official around here, I can collect it there. Heard it's a pretty good sum too, so I won't be needing any sort of a reward."

"Oh, but you saved most of my stock, I can't let you leave empty-handed!" The old shopkeeper looked into the pouch and muddled about in the contents for a while until he threw up his free hand and complained, "I just can find anything that's good enough for a hero such as you."

"Then don't give me anything," Ike said, somewhat eager to get out and collect his gold. He would collect it and move onto the next best paying contract, alone, the same as always.

Suddenly, a look of happiness crossed the owner's face, however, Ike could see there was a bit of resentment for what he was about to do. "I will give you, not my best piece, but one of my favorites. I don't keep it out as I don't want to sell it to just anyone, but I think for a person who just saved my family and I a world of trouble, I think you deserve it." The old man ducked behind a small counter and pulled out a silver and gold chain necklace. The chain was made of gold and silver chain links, alternating one after the other to form a flawless pattern. Attached to the chain was a small diamond with a ruby heart in the center of it. The design was set in a golden casing and was about the size of a medium sized gold coin. It was the perfect size, large enough to be noticed, but small enough to not cause a distraction. The shopkeeper held the design to the sunlight coming in through a window and Ike now saw that it was also dotted with shining bits of amethyst. In the sunlight, the already gorgeous amulet now took on a striking beauty and was definitely one of the greatest Ike had seen.

"Sir, you are too generous," Ike commented as he fingered the gemstones. "There is no way I can accept this; besides, it must be such a huge blow to your profit."

"Actually, I won it off some bloke in a game of cards; the fool was terrible at it and kept betting until he was out of money. He finally pulled out this necklace; said it was his mother's but he didn't care. Lost the round and the necklace. I decided to quit then, but I digress."

After several more minutes of arguing, Ike finally agreed to take the necklace, if just so he could collect his money and return it later that night. Sighing, Ike pocketed the jewelry and stepped out into the village. It wasn't particularly large, but it had some charming features. Wood houses lined the edge of the square and several more dotted the area around it. A cobblestone path interconnected them all and then led up a hill up to a long building, make out of the same wood and stone that the others were. Ike guessed that was the Official's building and began to walk up the hill, Aether resting comfortably in its sheath and on Ike's back.

As he proceeded along the path, he ignored the shouts of the owners of shops he passed and watched as small children kicked a rock around, trying to outrun each other in hopes of being able to kick it further and further away. He finally reached the top of the surprisingly steep hill and opened the door slowly. He peered inside and saw what he was looking for. He stepped on the wooden floor, bits of grass poking up from in between the boards. A stone mantle held unlit logs on it, awaiting the cold night to come. Ike then came to a desk with a woman around her mid-thirties, sorting through stacks of papers, occasionally marking something with her quill.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked in the exact tone and words that she had used for other clients.

"I'm here turning in a bounty."

"Oh, that's different. Good, I've been looking for something to distract me for a bit. Now, who have we got here?"

"He called himself The Master Thief of Jewels," Ike responded, he knew how this all worked. Although he mostly was employed by normal people, a lot of people wanted criminals like the Thief dead, and the Officials often offered the best rewards.

"Oooh, he was a tough one to nab for a while there. Worked quite the bounty onto himself, didn't he?"

"Indeed he did."

"Okay, I can see you just want to go, so I'll go grab his paperwork and your gold and you can be on your way." The Official said, slightly disappointed.

"Take your time, I plan on staying here for tonight, if there is an inn around here," Ike explained.

"Down the hill, take a left, another left, and a right, and there you are!"

The official left the desk and went through a door. Ike heard a click from it and decided to take a seat on one of the many cushioned chairs around the area. Although the hall was fairly long, only a little bit of the bottom floor was open to the public. The top floor was where most banking and other tasks took place. The entrance to the long house was opened and a man dressed in a red shirt, cut a little bit low so that it exposed some of his chest hair, and black cloth pants; the dress of the courier service.

"Is there an Ike in here?" the courier asked looking up the stairs and then at Ike himself.

"Here, sir."

"Ah, I've been looking all over for you. He reached into a leather bag that was slung over his shoulder and pulled out a box, sealed together by thin twine bindings. "Here you are, oh, and a note to go with it."

"Thanks," Ike said as the courier hurried out of the door to deliver more messages to other villages scattered about. Ike examined the box. It was made of balsa wood so it was lightweight and when Ike shook it a rattling sound told him that he shouldn't. He then looked at the card with curiosity. He examined the envelope carefully and saw that it had several words written on it. "Open this, before the box, and all with be explained."

As Ike was looking at the curious items, the Official woman came back out from the door and said excitedly, "I have just sent word that the Master Thief has been…dealt with, and you have been awarded this. Here's about 10000 gold, quite the nice sum, if I do say so myself."

"Thank you, now, it's getting a little late, so I'll head to the inn, stay safe."

"You too, sir!"

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike had managed to find his way to the inn after getting a little bit turned around and taking a right instead of a left. Now, however, he was checked into his room and all paid for. He dumped his sword and bag down on the bed and threw himself on it as well, letting out a sigh of relief as he enjoyed the soft sheets and the somewhat rough feel of the straw mattress. Next to his bed was a small nightstand upon which the box containing the mystery item and the letter sat. Other than a small rug that looked like it hadn't been dusted or swept, the room was barren except for the window opposite the bed.

Ike sat up on the bed and reached for the envelope, flipping it in his hands several times before opening it. Inside was a letter with fancy, yet legible writing spelling out its message. Ike looked in the envelope for anything else, but there was nothing, so he began to read the letter.

"Dear Ike,

You have been selected to join what is known by many as the Super Smash Brother's Tournament. You have been invited to this year's brawl due to exemplary achievements in combat, and you should be proud as very few are ever selected. If you have not heard of the tournament, all will be explained at the headquarters located in a hidden area. Participation in this is completely voluntary and you may continue with your life as is, but if you wish to join, open the package that should have been delivered with this letter. Inside is what is known as a TELEPORTER. It will take you from wherever you are located to our headquarters. When you arrive, due to your universe's way of life, everything you see will most likely be overwhelmingly complex, but we will provide an experienced guide to aid you in figuring everything out. To activate the teleporter, merely hold it in your hand and wait for midnight, at which point the device will flash and you will be teleported along with anything you're holding to our main lobby, where my brother and I will be waiting with all of the new recruits to explain, in slightly better detail what is happening. Should you wish to decline our invitation, ignore the teleporter and continue on with whatever you're doing.

We hope to see you, sincerely,

Master Hand and Crazy Hand"

Ike looked at the letter and read it again, and again. "Could this be possible?" Ike thought out loud. He'd heard of the Super Smash Brother's Tournament before and had even gone to see a few fights himself. He knew about the separate universes and other people with different technologies and abilities, and even different races entirely existed. Almost every universe had a teleporter to the Arena, but very few had ever seen the actual area where combatants and whoever ran the whole thing went. "Wow, I guess all those years of merc work paid off."

Ike opened the box and saw what was rattling around. It was a small metal disc with the symbol of two hands preparing to fight on it. The center where a hole should have been was a spherical device. It was the color of sapphires and seemed to pulse warmly in Ike's hand. Ike flipped the strange device over and jumped a bit at what he saw. On the back was a black square with numbers in it. They seemed to give off an eerie glow all on their own. It took Ike a minute, but he sighed and smiled lightly at the digital clock. He had seen one when he went to watch the last fights. The time read 11:46, so about a quarter of a clock until he would be teleported, unless, of course, he decided against it.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

11:59. Ike had been checking the small teleporter ever since he'd found out what it was, and time seemed to move forward at a snail's pace. He was already prepared. An excerpt at the end of the letter told him that lodging, clothes, food, and training equipment for all styles of fighting were going to be readily available. All he needed to take was an outfit with some sort of grandeur to show off to the masses, and a weapon if he so chose to have one. Ike had taken the old carpet from the hotel room, which had obviously been forgotten and cut a bit off with Aether. He put that strip around his head to form a headband and wrapped the rest of it around himself as a cape. Aether was strapped to his back, as well as a small charcoal drawing, but that was more for himself than any sort of fighting.

*Beep Beep Beep!*

Ike whirled around, but remembered that the teleporter was in his hand and calmed down; he'd been slightly nervous that he would miss the teleport, and there went his chance. He took a slow breath and an electronic voice emerged from the disc. "Teleporting competitor…Ike…in 5…4…3…2…1."

Ike braced himself as he felt himself shoot up to the sky in a flash of green light. He could feel the wind rushing by him, his cheeks being thrown back against themselves, and Aether whipping harshly against his back. All he could see was a bright green light surrounding his whole body. Suddenly, his body began to drop and the wind now pushed everything up off of him. He reached behind him with all of his might and gripped Aether tightly, fearing that his famous sword would be lost to wherever he was right now. He looked down and saw the roof of a building appearing rapidly, and a giant spike was pointed right at him. He sent his prayers up to whatever God there was and prepared to meet it.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike opened his eyes and discovered that he was, in fact, not dead, but rather in a luxurious lobby type room. Hardwood coated the floor and dark red oak boards lined the sides of the room. A roaring fire was going in a stone fireplace. A stage was set up with many different people, animals, creatures, and a black figure that didn't look like it had any sort of depth and was void of any distinguishing features. On the floor with him stood a bunch of other people and creatures, including a tough looking military man, a marshmallow wearing armor and a sword, and a blue dog creature on legs. Ike looked back at the stage and saw a face that seemed separate from the rest. She had very dark blonde hair, almost to the point of being auburn brown, but you could tell she was blonde. She wore a pink dress and a small tiara/crown; shiny blue earrings fell down from pointed ears. Her eyes were dark blue and her skin was a little pale. She was stunning.

Talking to her was a slightly taller man, but only by an inch or so. His blonde hair was lighter than hers, but their eyes seemed to be the same in color. He wore a green tunic and khaki colored pants with thick leather boots on. His long, floppy hat was the same color as the tunic. On his back rested a long sword, not like Ike's, as it clearly only required one hand to wield, and a blue shield with strange designs all over it. His ears were pointed similar to the woman's. 'Must be a brother or a cousin,' Ike thought to himself.

A loud clap that rattled the windows in their frames and knocked a plant pot over silenced the restless crowd. The group looked up onto a balcony that overlooked the lobby area, and every new recruit that was on the floor gasped in shock. The mysterious Master Hand and Crazy Hand weren't just two people acting as the MC's of the fights, they were actual hands!

"Welcome, new members, and returning members, it is good to see you!" boomed Master Hand as he floated down, followed by his twitching counterpart. "I welcome you to the third Calling of The Warriors. We are proud to welcome you to our fine establishment!"

"I ENJOY BAKED ALASKA!" Crazy Hand shouted, beginning to zoom in between the stage and the pillars holding up a massive ceiling.

"I'm afraid you must excuse my brother. He is a little bit…how should I say this…off…"

"A LITTLE BIT? A. LITTLE. BIT? Brother, you are crazy if you think that I have not lost about 200 percent of my mind…SAMUS LOOKS SEXY!"

All eyes turned to a bright blonde woman on stage wearing a very skintight blue jumpsuit. She sneered at him and shot daggers with her eyes, hand going down to her clip where Ike saw that a gun was held. "Bastard…" she murmured under her breath and spat into a pot holding a few purple and pink flowers. She turned to the audience and commented, "Better quit staring boys, else I'm gonna rip your fuckin' guts out." Samus smiled as she saw several of the men, including Ike look at their feet nervously.

"Anyway!" interrupted Master Hand. "I'm glad that we all met Samus, but please wait to start beating each other until the fights actually start." Ike heard Master Hand take in a large amount of air into who knows where and exhale in a loud sigh. "Now that we've been…introduced….let's get down to more pertinent business. I'm sure that this is a little overwhelming for many of you, and I'm sure you have questions, so I'm going to give you a brief rundown of how things work around here, and then each of you will be escorted by one or two of our more experienced members to the different facilities around the area. Everyone with me so far?"

A collective nod was all it took for Master Hand to continue. "Here at Super Smash Bros. Headquarters, we provide the place for you to train, eat, sleep, and organize different types of fights. You were summoned in what is known as "The Calling of the Warriors." It is an old tradition where people from many different universes and even different dimensions are called upon to fight for glory, fun, and occasional profit and the entertainment of fans in all of those dimensions. All of the fights are completely non-lethal, but you might take a beating in some. Swords are magically and technologically dulled whilst you are in the fighting arena and any sort of bullet or projectile is made unable to do more than hurt you a bit and push you back. When you want to fight, merely go to one of the many FOGs, or Fight Organizer System, located in the building. Select who you wish to fight and at both fighter's earliest convenience and willingness, the teleporters that will have been dispensed with take you both to your respective waiting areas. You will then have five minutes while the fields are being prepared to come up with some sort of a strategy. If you win, good for you, and if you lose, sucks for you, but that really doesn't matter. What does matter is how you fight. You will be ranked after every ten fights you have, and whatever score you're in will judge what category you will be in. For example, if…let's say Mario fought Luigi ten times, both of them would be given a score for each ranging from 1-10, or a cumulative total of 100 points. Even if Mario beat Luigi in every fight, if Luigi's fighting style was good and strong, but he had a case of bad luck, he could still score higher than Mario. There are four categories based on your average score. They are Basic Fighters, if your score is in the 10-39 area, Intermediate Fighters, if your score is somewhere in 40-69, Advanced Fighters, if your score is 70-89, and the final and most prestigious of them all, the Elite. You must score anywhere from 90-100 points every ten fights to stay in this category. Also, you are required to fight at least 5 times a month, but there is no restriction, and we only really change categories every 6 months. Other than titles and more respect, the rankings have very few perks other than which floor you are on. This floor has the worst rooms, albeit nice rooms, the second floor is slightly better, the third floor is even better, and the fourth floor is where the Elite sleep. The following members currently have the Elite status: Samus, Fox, Zelda, and Marth."

Ike perked up at the mention of one of his best friends. He knew that Marth had been selected, but he never found out if he, or Roy for that matter, had ever actually been in any fights. He searched the stage while the Crazy Hand started raving on about some random shit. He didn't see any trace of his friends, only a few other swordsman.

"NOW!" Master hand shouted, mostly to shut Crazy Hand up. "We will split off and explore the facility at you and your partner's leisure. Just be sure to be back in here before midday as we will have our Placement Fight to see where all of you, and I mean ALL of you place. Until then, returning competitors, meet up with the person you were assigned to now.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike moved over to a wall as a small crowd started to form around the new recruits. For now people were just getting introduced and acquainted. Ike took Aether off of his back and leaned against the wall, putting one foot on the wall and using Aether as sort of a cane. He looked around for anyone he saw on stage coming towards him. Finally he saw someone coming close to him and he gave sort of a half-smile at her. The pretty princess had apparently been designated as his chaperone. Someone called out to her and she turned so Ike took the opportunity to look down at his pants and whisper, "Stay down, boy!"

He removed himself from the wall and paced over to where the woman was turned. She whirled around to come face to shoulders with the man that she was to help. "Oh! Hiya…Ike?" she asked in a soft tone.

"That's me, and you are?"

"My name's Zelda, pleasure to meet you!" she responded, putting a gloves hand out to greet Ike. Ike took it and was slightly surprised to see how firm her handshake really was. "Well, now that the intro is out of the way, where do you want to get started?"

Ike shrugged and made a strange face. "I dunno; you're the experienced one here."

Zelda giggled and said, "Okay, let's start with this floor, the Basic Bunks and the Café." She nodded to a hallway to the left of the foyer. She took off, briskly and Ike hurried to keep up. As they entered the long row of doors and paintings, Ike saw that other than two children, one wearing a baseball cap, the other a young blonde and quite nervous looking child, he and Zelda were the only ones in the hallway. "Hey, Ness," Zelda greeted like the two were old friends. Ness, the one in the baseball cap looked up from a door and smiled.

"Hey Zelda, showing your buddy around too? I got my friend, Lucas here with me!"

"Nice to meet you, Lucas," Zelda said quietly. She extended her hand, but Lucas, rather than shaking it, ran off screaming. "What did I do?"

Ness sighed. "Nothing. He has some issues about meeting new people; I'd better go catch up to him. I'll see you later then!" With that, Ness began to sprint down in the direction where Lucas ran.

"Does this happen often?" Ike asked sarcastically.

"More than you'd think." Zelda replied just as sarcastically. The two laughed, but it was soon quieted and an awkward silence filled the hall. "Erm…let's get going, there's a lot to see and I'm sure you're going to want to eat something before we get started with the fights." Zelda took off once more and then stopped, abruptly at a random door. She turned the knob and pushed lightly, revealing a small, but well kept room. It was about the size of a small room in an average house. It was painted orange on the walls with red carpeting. A bed was pushed up against one wall, already made up with a blue comforter and white sheets. A small desk held what Ike remembered was called a computer and a lamp. A sole window let light into the room. "These are the Basic Bunks. Only a few of the fighters here are in these, but occasionally people have bad runs and come into these for a few weeks or so."

"It's bigger than most of the rooms I've stayed in." Ike commented absentmindedly.

"Oh really? I've lived in a castle my whole life, and this would be the size of my servant's quarters." Zelda responded. She closed the door and began walking back towards the lobby as Ike followed her, rolled his eyes and thought, _Great, now she's probably gonna tell me about how one time her roast pig wasn't hot enough for her._

However, Zelda remained silent.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

"Welcome the Café de Smash!" Zelda announced to herself and Ike. The floor was paneled wood and a circular fireplace dominated the center of the room, its warm flames crackling kindly, welcoming people to come and sit. Dark wooden tables dotted the room, each with five cushioned chairs around them. Zelda walked up to a table and pulled out a chair for Ike. He took it and she sat down at one across from him.

A waitress walked up to the table and greeted them. "Hey Zelda, this your new guy?"

"Yep, he'll need to know what you guys have."

Turning to face Ike, the brown-haired waitress said, "Welcome to the Café de Smash, we serve pretty much anything you can think of, as long as it's within one of the dimensions you come from, so what's your preference?"

Ike turned to Zelda who nodded encouragingly and Ike responded, "Do you guys think you can make roast duck?"

"Oh good, you're easy; that robot guy over there that Mr. Game and Watch is with wanted cherry flavored, non-processed, synthetic oil. That doesn't even make any sense!"Zelda and the waitress, whose name, according to her nametag, was Sheila laughed while Ike merely smiled. "Alright Zelda, I know what you like and I'll just get you two some waters to drink or something." Sheila said and she was off and behind a door.

"She's not a competitor, is she?" Ike asked.

"No, she's just a waitress. The people who run the Café are all humans who like the pay here better than wherever they were before. It's pretty nice to have everything you want at your fingers isn't it?" Zelda questioned, her face not revealing any sort of arrogance or boastfulness.

_Not like you'd know anything about not having that!_ Ike thought to himself, but his face was as stoic as Zelda's. "Yes, it's quite nice."

"So, while we wait, what did you do before you got here?" Zelda asked, trying to make some sort of small talk.

The question caught Ike off-guard. He hadn't expected a princess to ask about him! "I was a mercenary. I've been one since I was about 16."

"Lucky you."

Once again, Zelda startled Ike. "What do you mean, I don't really think anyone wants to become a merc, but it's what I need to do to make money."

Zelda sighed and explained, "My life in the castle is actually rather dull. You'd think I'd be ruling Hyrule, my home, or combating the forces of evil, or something like that. In reality, I'm stuck in a library, surrounded by my father's guards, studying magic, and trying not to bash my skull in from boredom."

"I have got to hear more of this story!" Ike said, now intrigued.

"Nope, I told you part of my story, now it's your turn!" Zelda teased, and then stifled a giggle.

Ike raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Alright, alright, but how much time before midday?"

Zelda looked at a digital clock on the wall and said, "About four hours; I think we have a little time, and besides our food is here!"

Sheila came out of the kitchen with two trays resting on her arms and two glass mugs filled with sparkling water. She arrived at the table and expertly placed the glasses in front of Ike and Zelda. She then put two covered, metal trays in front of the duo. "I hope you enjoy!"

She lifted the covers and then ran off, for Mr. Game and Watch was waving frantically. Apparently the robot, R.O.B. was getting mad that his oil tasted more like strawberries than cherries.

Ike stared at the plate of roast duck on his plate. His mouth watered as scintillating aromas wafted through the air into his nose. A small salad was on the side and mashed potatoes were in a small bowl. Zelda, who had a meager hotdog with French fries, burst into a fit of laughter. A small flush rose to Ike's cheeks and he asked, "What did I do?"

Zelda took a deep breath and composed herself, saying, "You look like you haven't eaten in years the way you drool over that duck. Ike blushed a little harder, and Zelda giggled with mirth. "And now you have a blush as big as when I beat you in the Placement Fights!"

Ike immediately picked up on the playfulness of Zelda's voice and the challenge she had just issued. "Oh you think you're gonna beat me? Well, you might be more experienced here, but just wait until you meet Aether!"

The two laughed and sat there for the next hour and a half, just talking away about home, family, and friends.

**A/N: This is the first chapter of what I hope to be many to come. Tell me what you think, and don't worry more action and other stuff with be coming up soon. Just putting this out there, I know that Ike's sword is called Ragnell, I just like Aether better, so I went with that. Also, I am accepting 5 OC's. Only five since I don't want to write about any more than that if I even get that many. If you would like to suggest a character, follow this format.**

**Name:  
>Age:<br>Hair Color/Eye Color:  
>Torso: (Clothes)<br>Head:  
>LegsFeet:  
>Hands:<br>Extra Clothes:  
>Peculiar Appearance: (A horn popping out of their head, tattoos, burn marks, scars, etc.)<br>Friends: (List a few of their friends in the Brawl scene)  
>Enemies: (List some rivals)<br>Background: (Give a small bio about how they fight, what was their childhood like, why they fight, and any special abilities)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the start of this, and like I said, there is much more to come.**


	2. Placement

Zelda was now rushing through the halls of the Smash Headquarters at a breakneck speed. She took long, yet quick strides; her dress seemed to be of very little concern to her. Ike, on the other hand, was having a bit of trouble. Aether wasn't designed to be a maneuverable sword. The tip of the blade in its sheath hit the backs of Ike's thighs with every heavy step, causing him to occasionally stumble. His armor wasn't exactly the most lightweight ever, but he still managed to keep up with Zelda through sheer force of will.

The two were on the second floor of the massive hotel. They had already seen the training room. It was a large room, Ike remembered, filled with multiple training dummies, a shooting range, and strange equipment that were apparently supposed to aid in physical training. There was also a small juice bar, run by a different employee of the Headquarters, where they served supplemental powders and juices, along with serving some minor snacks for before or after a workout. They were now heading across a balcony that had looked over the main lobby.

Zelda turned her head to see who was down there and saw her good friend, Link. She stopped abruptly and Ike rejoiced for the break. He took Aether off of his back and leaned it against the balcony, putting both of his arms on the ledge of the railing. A single trail of sweat broke from his brow. It wasn't as if Ike was in bad shape, quite the contrary really, but Zelda seemed to have the uncanny ability to zip from place to place and Ike was often just barely able to keep up with her.

"Link!" Zelda called down. The man in green that Ike had assumed to be Zelda's brother or cousin or something looked up and smiled warmly at Zelda. "You guys still down there?" she teased.

"Nah, just want lunch," Link replied, his voice was rather husky; a stark contrast to Zelda's clean soft voice. Link looked at Ike and asked, "That your guy?" There was a small hint of something in his voice, a hidden implication that Ike couldn't quite make out.

"Yep, where's yours?" Zelda responded. Ike scanned the area and saw that Link was the only one in the foyer at the time.

Link chuckled and said, "He went on ahead, almost wacked me with that scythe of his. He looks like he knows how to use it. Gonna be a tough fight in the ones coming up." He scratched the back of his back nervously.

"Just don't forget your shield this time and you'll do fine." Zelda soothed. She glanced at a clock on the wall and then shouted, "Look, we have to go, we'll talk more later, so just wait until after the fights, okay?" With that, she began her speed walk off. Ike grunted and pushed himself of the railing as Link shot him a knowing, yet sympathetic look. He grabbed Aether and ran off after Zelda.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

"Here," Zelda was saying, "Are the Intermediate Fighter's bedrooms." She opened the door and Ike stepped inside. It was much more spacious than the beginner's room, and much brighter; it still only had one window, but it was larger and had a potted plant in it, adding a little bit of color to otherwise bland room. The color scheme was primarily the same, except for the bed, which, instead of the usual bed was a giant pillow with several holes poked into it. "This was Bowser's room," Zelda explained.

"That explains the holes in the pillow," Ike responded, remembering that Bowser was the giant turtle-thing with the spines on his back. "Why do they separate people's rooms based on their fighting ability?"

"It's an incentive thing mostly. Most people are on this floor, but obviously people are rather fickly and it gives us a reason to want to improve our abilities as fighters. Also, your rank shows up when you fight, so if you want any sort of respect around here, you need to have at least be on this floor."

"Is anyone on the bottom floor?"

Zelda sighed and said, "My good friend, Peach, is on that floor. Fortunately, so Ganondorf; he's kidnapped me so many times back in my universe it's not even funny."

Ike laughed and asked, "Who saved you?" There was a great dose of sarcasm in his voice.

"Link," Zelda replied flatly. She wrung her hands slightly and said, "I can handle myself, but in our world, Ganondorf is much stronger, and Link is even stronger than that."

"So when you got the opportunity to come here, where you were all on an even playing field, you jumped at the chance," Ike finished. "Am I right?"

Zelda nodded and there was another awkward silence between the two. She closed the door behind Ike and then began to walk off towards some stairs, glancing at the clock along the wall in the hall.

As the duo walked up the carpeted steps, Ike noticed a dramatic change in the coloring of the walls. Rather than the bland white-orange, they were painted a light blue, only slightly darker than sky blue. The carpet was now white with green floral designs etched along its border. Pictures of different fighters hung outside certain doors. Zelda kept walking as Ike desperately tried to put faces to names with the pictures provided. A man in a blue jumpsuit and red blazer helmet was probably Captain Falcon; he had the same arrogance in the picture as he did when he fought. They passed by several rooms that had pictures that Ike didn't recognize, such as a pink marshmallow type thing with a face and an anthropomorphic falcon. Zelda suddenly stopped and Ike just barely managed to do the same without running into her. He looked at the picture on the wall next to the door and saw Link. Zelda pulled out a small key from a pouch on her dress and opened the door. Inside, there was a queen sized bed, messily made and with a green comforter. Hung on the walls were various machines and weapons, and on a desk which held both a television and computer, there was a picture of him and Zelda, making a funny face with Samus in the background, rolling her eyes at the two.

"How do you know Link?" Ike asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "Is he your brother or cousin or something?"

Zelda stifled a laugh. "No, he's not of any relation to me. Let's head down up to the next floor so I can show you what you're really aiming for and I'll explain on the way." Zelda closed the door and shut the door, locking it behind her, and, as her usual, she was off once more. "Link and I have been friends for over a decade now. I met him when I was strolling through one of the villages around Hyrule, near the castle of course. As we were walking, I saw a boy huddled under a crude shelter, he looked half frozen. I ran over to him, against my father's wishes, but I did it anyway. So I ran up to him and he kind of cowered away from me, but I pushed him into the open, and right into my father, who's a rather big man, mind you. I asked him where his mommy and daddy were and he said they had left him for dead, and that they didn't want him because he was such a hassle." That sentence struck a chord with Ike and his face contorted as memories flooded back to him. He shook his head clear and kept walking, trying to keep his face as even as possible. "After a few more questions, I basically asked my dad if we could take Link in, and he said that we could, but he'd have to become a squire to one of our knights. And ever since, we've been best friends."

"Have you guys ever considered dating each other?" Ike asked, but soon regretted it when Zelda stopped in front of nothing in particular. She stared into space for a moment and then continued walking.

"I've entertained the idea, but I don't think it will ever happen," Zelda responded quickly and in almost a whisper. Zelda dropped the subject as quickly as she seemed to walk.

After several minutes, Ike and Zelda stopped at an oak paneled door. They were on the fourth and final floor of the Headquarters, which Zelda explained to be an actual mansion. "This is my room, for now at least, the Elite rooms!" She smiled broadly and brought out an elaborate key, decorated with small jewels and the like. She pushed open the door and Ike's jaw dropped.

Inside, the walls were a deep shade of navy blue, twisting designs painted in shimmering gold and silver danced across the walls and glimmered beautifully in the mid-morning sun. The walls were bordered with white marble and were in the shape of twisting vines and bunches of grapes. The floor was an almost beige color, with a repeating diamond design sewn into it. The room itself was much bigger than the Intermediate rooms, and even the Experienced rooms. In the center of the room was a four-poster bed. White satin curtains veiled a bed with a red comforter and multiple feather pillows. On the wall that it was facing was a flat screen television with some sort of device below it. To Ike's right was a small kitchen area that Ike hadn't remembered seeing in any other room. The kitchen had a full sized refrigerator, something Ike had remembered seeing in the kitchen, and several counters with different things on them. To the right of the bed, just next to the kitchen was a wall of windows with a door leading out to what looked like a small balcony made of marble. To the left, there was a slightly less opulent door, which Ike assumed led to the bathroom. Only the Experienced and Elite rooms had private bathrooms, a definite incentive.

"Come outside with me," Zelda said, enjoying the astounded expression on Ike's face. She gingerly took his rough hand and pulled him towards the glass door that led to the balcony. She slid it open and pushed Ike outside then stepped outside himself.

Ike squinted in the sun, but enjoyed the warm feeling it spread to his whole body. After his eyes adjusted, Ike looked over the marble railing that bordered the floor he was on. The view was amazing, to say the least. Ike saw rolling hills filled with lush greenery. The bright blue sky seemed to just disappear into the mountains in the distance, being eaten by the mammoth land masses that had snow capped peaks. The sun gleamed on the valley directly below where a yellow mouse and another pink marshmallow, but with a different face, and a bipedal Anubis-like beast were walking.

"Hey Samus!" Zelda called to Ike's left and he saw that another balcony was about twenty feet away from where he was standing.

The blonde woman who had spit at Crazy Hand turned from where she was standing, a trail of smoke following her. She wore the skintight blue jumpsuit with glowing designs all over it that she had been wearing earlier. The only difference was that she now held a cigarette in one hand. "Yea?" Samus responded, inhaling deeply into her tobacco. She lightly blew out, causing a massive amount of smoke to obscure her face.

Zelda grimaced, "I thought that Master Hand said you weren't to smoke for a while."

Samus rolled her eyes and said, "I don't really give a damn what the talking hand says, you know that by now." She blew out a final bit of a smoke and then dropped her cigarette onto the cold marble, snubbing it out with the heel of her boot. "Besides, my guy wanted to know if we were allowed, so I took him up here and figured I might as well have one." Samus glanced through her window into her room and shook her head.

Sighing Zelda asked, "Where is your guy anyway?"

"He had to go to the bathroom, so I let him use mine. God, what's his name…something related to a penis…" Samus trailed off as a gruff man in grey combat fatigues stepped out of the door. He had brown hair and quite thick stubble.

"I heard that," he grumbled. His eyes narrowed at Samus, but she remained emotionless.

"You'll get over it," she countered, causing the army man to lose the stare down. Samus stared at him smugly and then pushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"Name's Snake, though some people call me Solid Snake, don't know why," Snake called to Ike and Zelda, who, in turn, introduced themselves.

Samus straightened and shouted, "See? I told you he was named after his daddy's dick!" Ike laughed hysterically and even Zelda had to cover her mouth, trying to act a little more mature than he friend. Snake blushed heavily and reached for his pistol; Samus noticed this and commented, "Don't even try it." Snake froze as Samus' eyes gleamed with anticipation, daring Snake to draw and see what happened. Snake dropped his hands and walked into the room, murmuring something about being in the hall.

There was an awkward silence broken solely by Zelda's cough. "Well, Samus, we'll see you later…the fights are going to start in about thirty minutes." She wrung her hands uncomfortably

"Mhm, I'll see you later Zel. Ike, good luck." Samus said with a mock salute. Ike let Zelda through the door first and as he was about to go through, saw Samus pull another cigarette out of her case and light it with a chrome lighter. She sucked in deeply and exhaled the massive puff of smoke, sighing contently.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike and Zelda were now walking down the hallway, quickly and quietly. Ike finally got the gall to speak. "Is she always like that?"

"No," Zelda said concisely. "She's just really stressed…she and Marth are the only two who consistently manage to be able to stay in the Elite Suites. Fox and I usually bounce between the two with Link and Kirby. Lately though, Samus has hit a rough spot and has started to slip, but she's still one of the best fighters…just never good enough for herself."

"I take it the smoking isn't helping her any?"

"No, it's not, but it hasn't hurt her either apparently. Scans show that Samus is as healthy as can be despite her smoking habit, but it's still disgusting." Zelda sighed heavily. "I'm really sorry that you had to see her in such an aggressive mood, she's actually pretty nice; although, the whole making fun on Snake's name…that's Samus through and through."

The duo remained in silence for a while they walked down two flights of stairs into the second floor hallway, at which point they had to cross in order to get to the stairs on to the first floor. Ike glanced at a clock and it read 11:45, they had fifteen minutes to get there, so there was plenty of time. "Hey, Zelda," Ike said.

"Yes?"

"You said that Marth was one of the top fighters here, but I haven't seen him…or Roy for that matter."

"Oh…Well, they're around…I think, you know, doing things." Zelda grunted and then sped up her already quick pace, so that she actually began jogging a little.

"Okay, if you didn't want to tell me, just say so!" Ike called, a bit of playfulness in his voice to show that he was joking, mostly.

Zelda stopped long enough for Ike to catch up and then said, "Look, I can't tell you…at least not yet, and I don't know if I ever will, but they'll be here for the placement fights, I know that they're not fighting each other…unlike you and I."

The two got to the stairs and quickly headed down as Ike said, "So I'll be fighting a pretty princess then?"

"Pretty princess my ass," Zelda whispered to herself, a small smile growing, but she hid it from Ike.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

"ALL OF THE PEOPLE-THINGS ARE BACK! YAY!" was the first thing that Ike heard when he entered the crowded foyer. Indeed, he and Zelda were one of the few stragglers who were walking into the area, although most of them came from the Café.

"Yes, well then," began Master Hand, "As you all have probably figured out by now, the Placement Fights will begin shortly, and all new members will be fighting their guides, and members who did not have one will fight each other. In these fights, we encourage you to go all out, and show almost all of your tricks…almost I said. This will be a test of your ability and we will give you a rating of 1-10 and that will be your rating for the next month until when the scores are tallied up once more, at which point you will move up, move down, or stay at the same area. You've all seen the rooms, and I'm sure they're more than enough incentive to fight well. Now, the goal of these fights is not to run your opponent through or to blow their brains out, but merely to knock them far enough off of the side of the arena so that they can't get back on, no matter what they do. Once you fall to a certain point or go far enough sideways, a teleporter will bring you back here, and all of your injuries will be completely healed, not that you'll have more than a few bruises here and there. Now, if you look towards the screen behind Crazy Hand you'll see what round you'll fight in. There will be about seven rounds total, 6 fights per round, so here are the first two rounds' combatants.

Round One:

Samus-Snake  
>Link-Wanderer<br>Mario-Wario  
>Copycat-Mewtwo<br>Falco-Wolf  
>Peach-Luigi<p>

Round Two:

Ike-Zelda  
>Eon Angelos-Yoshi<br>Mr. Game and Watch-R.O.B  
>Captain Falcon-Eve Vacant<br>Ganondorf- Alanis  
>Marth- Shade (My own character)<p>

"And those are the first two rounds of match-ups. We ask that anyone not fighting in said fights be patient and find something to do for the next thirty minutes or so. Those who are fighting in first round fights, make your way over to one of the six teleporters on the far end of the wall. Those who are fighting in the second round, go in after them. Two people can fit in one teleporter, so just go with it. The first round fighters will be teleported to one of our many practice fields. They are flat and only have three platforms, so it will be a good start for some of our more complex arenas. The second batch will be teleported to the waiting rooms with a random combatant that's not the one in your teleporter or your opponent. Now, let the first fights of the season begin!" Master and Crazy Hand clapped together loudly, sending shockwaves through the very foundation of the mansion.

Ike watched as the first round fighters all filed into the teleporters. They were wide tubes with a reflective back wall and a glass door. A blue circle made up the entirety of the floor. "I wanna push the button!" Crazy Hand exclaimed. Master Hand made a 'go ahead' gesture with his whole body and Crazy pushed the button, causing a bright blue light to fill up the area. Ike turned away and covered his eyes and when he turned around, everyone was gone. The doors opened up once more and Crazy shouted, "ALL ABOARD!"

Ike stepped in nervously, a knot having formed in his stomach. He wasn't really worried about the fight, but rather about being teleported after his last lovely experience. A girl, Alanis, if he remembered correctly stepped inside and the glass door shut. She wasn't as tall as Ike, but not short in comparison to others. Her hair was shockingly white and uncut coming down to her shoulders. Her shoulders were shrugged and her head was down, seeming to stare at her black bodysuit and equally dark jacket. She clenched gloved hands and looked up, revealing one crimson eye, the other covered by her hair. Dark circles were under her eye and she seemed tired, high strung, and ready to pounce on Ike. Ike quickly looked away and Alanis put her head back down. Suddenly, a familiar light enveloped Ike and he put his hand back against Aether to keep it from going anywhere.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike had closed his eyes, but didn't feel a thing. No rush of air, no movement, no sickening sensation, nothing; instead he felt the feel of the floor change. Whereas it had once been hard and tough, Ike was now standing on a blood red carpet in a white room with six television monitors showing six empty stadiums. He straightened and saw another man standing in the same room with him.

The man had to be Shade, he just fit the name. His hair was long, about to mid-neck, and it was black, but had deep red highlights with white tips. Thick stubble adorned his face which had a long scar running from his left ear, down his left cheek, over misshapen lips and onto his neck. His eyes seemed to sparkle with kindness, but there seemed to be something hidden beneath them. He wore a white t-shirt with a picture of an eye that seemed to be crying blood and a heavy leather overcoat with the same insignia on the back. His black jeans were faded gray and leather work boots adorned his legs. Two black swords were in their sheaths on either side of him. He leaned up against the wall and looked up at the TV screens.

"They're starting," he said, his voice deep and rich. Ike turned to the screen and saw that all of the fights had indeed started. It was obvious who hadn't been in the fights before as they were the ones that were panicking and desperately trying to avoid the incoming attacks of their more experienced counterparts.

After a few minutes, it seemed that the new members got into the swing of things and they started to fight back. Ike watched as Samus, now in a full orange battle suit shot beams of energy at Snake, who seemed to be setting different things up here and there, his mind working a thousand miles per second trying to figure out Samus' weaknesses. Alas, all of the careful planning was put to waste when Samus got close enough to wrap Snake in a whip of energy. She pulled him in close and Ike could just imagine her smiling as she slung him into his own explosives, which were placed at strategic locations around the field. Snake felt himself being pushed to the edge and he almost fell off, but managed to stop himself at the last second. From off of his back he pulled out a giant gun and fired a single missile, then rolling out of the way of one of Samus' bombs. Samus seemed to laugh as she stepped out of the way of the incoming missile; however she stopped when she picked up a faint sound behind her. She turned and her eyes widened when she saw the same missile coming straight back at her!

She instantly leapt up, but still it followed her. After scanning the area and finding Snake, Samus saw that he had the control and was actually telling the missile where to go. "Clever," she conceded to herself. "Just not clever enough." Samus sprinted towards Snake with missile in tow and slammed her cannon into his midsection, sending him flying off of the arena floor. She then jumped straight up and did a small back flip. Since Snake couldn't control the projectile, it went straight forward and careened into him with an explosion that shook the stadium. When the smoke cleared, Samus was left alone in the middle of the battlefield, he helmet tucked underneath her arm and a smirk on her face. She then disappeared in a flash of blue light.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

About ten minutes later, the fights concluded and Master Hand appeared on the screens all over the premises. "Congratulations to all fighters! Those were very good first battles, and we will be announcing your scores at the end of the second round along with those scores. The following combatants have won this round: Samus, Link, Mario, Copycat, Falco, and Luigi. Congrats to all of you. Now, to all of those in the waiting rooms, you will have several minutes to orient yourselves once you get onto the battlefield, and then when you hear me shout 'Go!' you may commence fighting, anything except tampering with the field goes! Enjoy!"

Ike felt the sensation of the teleportation and groaned. "I don't think I'm ever going to get over this…"

(=)(=)(=)(=)

When Ike opened his eyes, he was on a field. It was just a circular platform with several, smaller, and floating platforms above it, held in place by some mysterious force. The battlefield was a good size, large enough to avoid attacks, but close enough to keep them in range. Ike saw Zelda on the other end of the field waiting patiently and eyeing him carefully, no doubt devising a strategy against Ike. However, Ike figured what it would be. He knew that she possessed powerful and long ranged magic, allowing her to hit him without ever getting in range of his blade; Ike knew how to fight this.

"Combatants, to the ready!" boomed a voice from nowhere. "3, 2, 1, BEGIN!"

Zelda instantly dashed forward, a small red orb in her hands. Ike walked to the middle of the stage as Zelda did exactly what he predicted, ran to an edge and shot a huge fireball at him. He held up Aether and the magic fizzled out against the blade. Zelda raised an eyebrow, impressed at how stood his ground and she knew that she'd have to get at an angle his sword couldn't reach. Zelda charged up another fireball, but this time she held it in one hand while forming a green orb in her other hand. She shot the green orb at Ike, but more so at his feet. Ike backed up and gasped as roots began to encroach around him, he desperately tried to move, but found that he was stuck tight. Zelda glided around the edge of the stage, flinging fireballs to and fro. Ike watched as at least ten fireballs came in all directions. He held up Aether, channeled energy in it and watched as the balls went up and into his blade.

At this, Zelda looked confused. Ike grinned and slammed Aether down on the roots, right between his feet. The blade sent a shockwave of fire over the branches, sending them to their crispy fried doom. Zelda was a little winded, that strategy usually worked, but she hadn't expected Ike's sword to actually be able to draw in magic. Suddenly, Ike got down on one knee and put his blade so that the tip was behind him. Zelda watched him curiously, ready to jump at the first sign of movement. Out of nowhere, Ike shot forward with blinding speed, crossing the entire radius of the field in a matter of seconds. His blade swung into Zelda and she grunted as she was thrown back off the platform. She took a deep breath and then disappeared, reappearing behind Ike and she thrust her palm into his back, using magic to send him sprawling to the ground.

He quickly got up and then fell right back down at what he saw. Standing where Zelda once was, there was now an androgynous figure glaring at Ike. He or she sprinted forward with a speed Ike had never seen and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Suddenly, Ike felt a hundred tiny pinpricks hit his back, but his armor did deflect most of the needles. He turned just in time to hold up Aether as another volley bounced harmlessly off of Aether's gleaming blade. The mystery person then launched a chain out of seemingly nowhere and wrapped it around Ike's sword hand.

Ike quickly threw the blade to the other hand as he felt himself being pulled towards the unrealistically strong person. He swung Aether with as much grace as he would have if he had done it with his main hand and chopped the chain in two. Ike recovered from the attack just as the unknown person leaped up to get on top of one of the platforms. Ike threw Aether up as the blue-clad figure tried to land on the platform. Aether's spinning caused the figure to be slammed to the ground and Ike, timing it perfectly, executed a kick right on the midsection of the man or woman. He or she slid against the ground, trying to stop itself.

Ike caught Aether and smiled, but his smile turned to a gasp as he saw the mystery person veil themselves in a sparkling light. When it faded, Zelda was back, an amused smile on her face. "Surprise!" she said with a gesture. Ike remained stunned. "I think it's time to end this…" Zelda moved both of her hands over each other and a ball of electricity formed in between them, crackling wildly. Ike had regained him composure, but the next few things happened too fast for him to react.

Zelda thrust her hands forward and an arc of lighting forced Ike to the very edge of the stage, where Zelda had teleported. She threw another magic-reinforced punch and sent Ike flying back across the stage. Ike dug Aether into the platform, trying to stop, but it was no use as he felt himself falling and falling…and falling…until he was back in the lobby.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike looked around at the group gathered, who were applauding. He was back in the main area of the mansion and had not a single scratch on him. He felt perfectly fine, except maybe a little shamed for losing like that.

Out of nowhere Zelda appeared. The audience of finished fighters applauded once more and Ike and Zelda were standing. "That was a good fight. Thought you weren't gonna make it Zel, for a second at least."

Zelda blushed. "I'm a bit rusty, but I think the best part was when I transformed."

"Yea, what the hell was that?" Ike almost shouted, but managed to keep him voice restrained.

"She is Sheik, my alter ego of sorts," Zelda explained. "I can use my magic to transform into her at will, and as such, my fighting style changes. It also confuses most people, like you!" Zelda and Samus roared with laughter as Ike hung his head.

"Don't worry 'bout it too much, Kye-," Samus started.

"Ike."

"Whatever, don't worry, she gets everyone with that trick, just 'member to keep your wits with you." With that, Samus pulled yet another cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and inhaled deeply. "That's the stuff," she sighed, letting out a cloud of smoke.

"Master Hand said you weren't supposed to do that for at least a week," said a voice behind the group that had gathered. They all turned and saw Link and a man that had to be Wanderer walking towards them. Link's sword and shield were sheathed and Wanderer held aloft a giant scythe that rested against his shoulder.

Zelda smiled and wrapped one arm around Link friendly. "I saw your fight; Wanderer here almost got you a few times." She turned to Wanderer who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "You're very skilled."

Wanderer seemed to not here Zelda but after a few seconds, he responded, "Thank you." His voice was smooth, almost sage-like, and it had a peculiar tone to it, like one who had been lost for a long time. His hair was long and shiny, jet black as well. His eyes were a misty grey, as if a resin had formed over them. He wore a black shirt with an orange and black striped vest over it, with black jeans and brown boots. His muscles were veiny and large, a stark contrast to Links agile, lighter form.

Samus was about to draw a comment from Links earlier statement, but Master and Crazy Hand clapped, extinguishing Samus' cigarette in the process. "Dammit!" she cursed, reaching for another, but was interrupted by Master Hand.

"SAMUS!" he roared, "I told you not to smoke until a week after the new recruits arrived!"

Samus sneered and retorted, "Stick it up your ass…wait…that doesn't make any sense…"

A tumult of laughter followed from the entire crowd and The Hands had to clap once more in order to regain control.

"Alright! With all of the fun and games out of the way, it is time to give you your scores! We based this, not on whether you won or lost, but rather on your fighting style and how you overcame different challenges your opponent gave you. If you look on the screen, you'll see…wait a second…are Marth and Shade still going at it?" The Master Hand seemed stunned and he tuned the screen to the camera that was showing the two men's battle.

Both of them looked somewhat tired and Shade had both of his blades out, trying desperately to parry Marth's lighting quick attacks. Shade finally found an opening and lunged at Marth, who was hit square in the stomach, forcing him back a few steps. Shade then slammed his foot down and a dark red and black spike emerged from the ground, forcing Marth to jump on it to avoid it.

This back and forth momentum went on for several more minutes before Master Hand said, "I think it is time for us to have a winner." He snapped his massive fingers and a glowing silver ball appeared on the screen. It had the tournament logo on it and exuded sheer power, a Smash Ball if Ike remembered correctly.

Marth saw the ball and with one swing of his sword, destroyed the ball, infusing himself with the mystical power. Shade sighed and sheathed his swords; he knew what was about to come. Marth moved forward in a way that shouldn't have even been possible. It didn't even seem like he moved; one second he was in one spot, the next, he was right in front of Shade; his sword had already been swung and Shade was now back in the lobby.

Marth appeared soon after and Master and Crazy Hand clapped, impressed with the two fighter's skill. "Excellent you two!" cheered Master Hand. Shade nodded and Marth smiled kindly. "Now, we shall see your scores. The winner will be placed above the loser, with each score next to your names and your rank next to that. Here are the scores:"

Samus- 9.4- Elite  
>Snake- 6.2- Intermediate<p>

Link- 8.5- Advanced  
>Wanderer- 6.0- Intermediate<p>

Mario- 5.8- Intermediate  
>Wario- 5.3- Intermediate<p>

Copycat- 7.5- Advanced  
>Mewtwo- 6.1- Intermediate<p>

Falco- 8.6- Advanced  
>Wolf- 4.7- Intermediate<p>

Luigi- 4.3- Intermediate  
>Peach- 2.1- Basic<p>

Zelda- 9.1- Elite  
>Ike- 8.2- Advanced<p>

Eon Angelos- 6.8- Intermediate  
>Yoshi- 3.5- Basic<p>

Mr. Game and Watch- 5.7- Intermediate  
>R.O.B. - 6.0- Intermediate<p>

Captain Falcon- 7.9- Advanced  
>Eve Vacant- 6.8- Intermediate<p>

Alanis- 9.0- Elite  
>Ganondorf- 4.5- Intermediate<p>

Marth- 9.6- Elite  
>Shade- 8.8- Advanced<p>

"Congratulations to all! If you see us after we get the next round of fighting begin, we will give you your room key. Until 6 months have passed, you are in this ranking; however, you may move rooms if given consent by the current owner." Master Hand explained enthusiastically.

"DISMISSED!" shouted Crazy Hand.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Several hours later, Ike was in his new room, checking out his bathroom, and trying to figure out how all of the complicated machinery worked. "Damn, how do people live with such complex things?" he asked out loud as he pressed down on a small leaver attached to a white object. Suddenly, the water went rushing down the opening at the bottom of the whole and Ike jumped back several feet.

"Scared of the toilet are you?" a female voice questioned while seeming to suppress a giggle.

Ike turned to see Zelda, leaning up against a doorway. Alanis, Shade, and Falco were behind her. "I'll figure it out," Ike said nonchalantly, but his face betrayed him and everyone laughed…well, except for Alanis, who continued to stare down at the floor.

"Laughing at another's misfortune will only bring the wrath of hatred up you," she said, her voice solemn and melancholy.

Zelda looked perturbed, but turned to Ike and said, "Now, we have business to discuss. It is time you found out why this place really exists and where Marth and Roy have been…"

**A/N: Another chapter done! A bit more action in this one, but we're still not at the main plot, but I need to set people up, so be patient! Also, just in case you missed them, the five OC's are: Alanis, created by Kuroshitsuji, Eon Angelos, created by Eonight, Wanderer, created by Leonlink, Eve Vacant, also created by Kuroshitsuji, and Copycat, created by Forgotten Tactic. If your character didn't make it, it's nothing personal, I just chose which characters I liked the most and which I could build off of. All of the ones picked will have ties into the main plot. Also, for those who know of my fic, The Mark, I am working on, but it's kind of slow going.**


	3. Parallel of Insanity

Ike chased after Zelda as she rushed down the hallway at her usual pace. Falco managed to keep up with ease due to his natural lithe figure; his strides were short and quick as compared to Zelda's long and somewhat methodical ones. Shade was next to Ike, his face becoming slightly flushed. He obviously was not built to be a runner; his shoulders were broad and he was at least 6'2" tall. Alanis seemed to drift behind everyone else, keeping up but not very with the group. Her steps were labored and it looked as if she would pass out any second from exhaustion.

Ike had absolutely no idea where Zelda was taking them, but she seemed to be determined to get there, an intense look on her face. Falco also looked to know where they were going, but his beak remained shut and his eyes forward. At first, Ike noticed that they were heading in the same direction as the stairs up to the Elite suites. However, when they arrived at the base of the stairs, Zelda stopped and turned so that Ike, Shade, and Alanis could all catch up. When they arrived, Alanis seemed to be a little out of breath for some reason. Concerned, Zelda asked, "Are you alright, Alanis?"

She reached out to touch Alanis' shoulder, but the smaller girl swatted Zelda's hand away violently and hissed, "Don't touch me, I am fine." She never once took her eyes off of the floor.

Zelda held her hand gingerly and took a step back from Alanis, as did Ike and Falco. Only Shade didn't seem to be affected by Alanis' bizarre behavior. Shuddering, Zelda turned and placed a hand on portion of the wall just to the right of the stairs. All of a sudden, a small box moved out from the wall, a metallic piece attached to it. Falco placed his key into a small, well concealed hole in the metallic piece and then was teleported off to who knows where. Shade and Ike both looked shocked and even Alanis looked up from the floor with the one eye that she showed wide open.

Zelda chuckled lightly and explained, "Each of you will have access to the room here, so all you need to do is place your key inside the slot."

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Shade, a dubious expression on his usually friendly face.

"Believe me, you'll see," replied Zelda mysteriously.

Taking a step up to the box, Shade drew in a breath and said, "If I get teleported off to some deserted island somewhere, I'm coming for you." With that, he placed his key into the slot and was gone in a small flash.

"Next," Zelda said casually. Alanis stepped forward and placed her key, this one jewel-encrusted similar to Zelda's, and was teleported just like Shade and Falco. "Alright Ike, you're next."

Ike glanced nervously at the box on the wall and gave a small shake of his head. "Look, I really don't like these whole teleporting things…are there stairs I can take?"

Zelda outright laughed and put her gloved hands on her knees, taking in shallow breaths. Ike blushed slightly and reached gingerly for his key. When she finally managed to compose herself, Zelda said, "It takes some getting used to, but I promise that none of the teleporting is as bad as the one that took you here. Now put your key in the slot so we can get going. If we end up behind Samus' group, we're never going to hear the end of it." Ike still looked nervous. Zelda sighed with a smile on her face and complained, "Oh will you grow a pair and just put the damn key in the slot!"

"Harsh," Ike said with a half-smile. Finally mustering up his courage, Ike stepped forward, placed his key in the slot, and blinked.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Ike was standing in what looked like a meeting hall without any chairs. A few people were scattered around, all of them Advanced or Elite rank, Ike noticed. They were casually chatting or leaning up against a wall, or simply standing there awkwardly whilst waiting for the people they knew. The room was rather nice, with a dull brown carpet and red walls. Pictures of different scenes were placed around the room to add a bit of liveliness to it. There were no windows, but it was well lit from several gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Zelda then appeared next to Ike, causing him to jump a bit. She giggled and Ike said, "I swear I'm manlier than what you've seen so far."

"I don't doubt that," Zelda said calmly, looking around as well. She centered her gaze on Link who was now speaking with two marshmallows, one of which was wearing armor.

"What's with the talking balls?" Ike asked before Zelda had a chance to run off.

Zelda put her hands up to her face to stifle another laugh and explained, "They're not marshmallows, the pink one is Kirby and the one wearing the armor is named Meta Knight, they're in the Advanced and Elite tiers respectively. I'm not exactly sure what they are, but they are both guys, just so you know." Zelda then managed to escape and quickly greeted Link with a small, one-armed hug.

Ike was left alone, but not for long before he finally saw a familiar face. Marth was leaning against one of the several pillars around the room, casually twirling his sword in its sheath, occasionally waving to some of the older members. Ike strutted quickly over to Marth as he was still unfamiliar with the surroundings and the people. "Hey, Marth," Ike called quietly.

Looking over, Marth smiled and stood upright, clipping his sword to his belt. "Hello, Ike, how has the place treated you so far?" Marth asked, shaking Ike's hand warmly.

"This is confusing as hell. I have no idea what anything is, who anyone is, or where any place is!"

Marth laughed. "I know how you feel. When Roy and I got here from the last Calling, we were just as lost as you. Don't worry though; you get the hang of it pretty quickly."

Ike began to glance around the room once again and questioned, "By the way, where is Roy, I haven't seen him since I got here, and his fight got canceled." Ike stood on his toes trying to get a view over some of the taller people's heads.

Marth's face instantly grew serious and hard, quite uncharacteristic of him. "He's…not here right now…and…" Marth paused for a second, thinking on the careful order in which he presented the words to Ike. "He might not be returning for a while. It will be discussed in the meeting we're about to have…once Samus gets her group here."

"I am really getting sick of all the innuendo around here," Ike complained, throwing his hands up in an annoyed gesture easily read by Marth.

Marth shook his head and leaned back up against the pillar. "Look, once this meeting is done and all is explained, we won't have to use it as much." Typical for Marth to be the soothing voice of reason. "By the way, how did your fight go? I was kind of busy fighting Shade."

"I lost, pretty badly too," Ike confessed, slightly ashamed of not putting up a better fight.

Marth smiled and put a hand on Ike's shoulder. "Look, Zelda is one of the best fighters here, and you're new here, so don't worry about it."

Ike nodded. "I only saw that last part of your fight. Shade's not too bad."

"When he takes both his blades out, he can get pretty tough, but he's not as fast as most people with two swords are, but he also has some nasty magic." Marth shuddered for a second. "I took a hit from one of those dark spikes…that was cold…."

Ike laughed as Marth's expression turned from serious to goofy and he began to shiver slightly. "He seems nice enough, though," Ike commented, trying to bring Marth back to reality.

"Oh, he's a great guy…just don't ever willingly fight him."

A small light caught everyone's attention as a man wearing a forest green trench coat appeared in the room. He wore light purple clothes and mustard yellow accessories. He had a certain aura about him that seemed to charge the air with energy. His hair was as white as Alanis', but perhaps not as long and better kept. He looked around for a second before noticing Link and Zelda and jogging over in their direction. The next person to show up was Captain Falcon. Of course, he had to make a big scene and began to dash around each and every group of people and individual person, just to make his presence and speed known to all. Some of the newer members clapped while the older ones, including Marth, rolled their eyes. Finally, Samus appeared. She was in her blue jumpsuit and was holding a small yellow mouse that Ike learned to be called a Pikachu.

Samus scanned the room, giving a small nod to Ike and Marth before leaning against a wall behind her, placing one of her feet on the wall and scratching the furry rodent she was holding.

"Looks like everyone is here," Marth said, "So Master Hand should be coming in a few minutes."

Ike scratched his arm under his shoulder pads and groaned. "Finally, I can see what this whole thing is about and then go to bed."

Five minutes later, a large orb of light appeared in the front of the room where a large, makeshift stage was placed. Ike always wondered why the Master Hand needed such a stand when he was already so big and so…obvious.

"May I have your attention?" The Master called. It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement and an order just meant to be followed. Everyone in the room immediately dropped what they were doing and congregated in the center of the room. Ike ended up next to Marth and Zelda, with Kirby in front of him. Link was next to Zelda with Samus standing behind all of them, still holding Pikachu. "Ah ha ha! Welcome to all of you. I hope you have made yourselves comfortable in your rooms and are starting to get a feel for the building. Old members, you know what this is about, however you also know that we must brief our newer members on what this organization was truly built for." The audience shifted as everyone stood a little straighter and hands fell to sides.

"Now we begin by saying…" The Master Hand trailed off. If he had eyes then he'd probably be staring right at Samus.

"What?" Samus asked. "I haven't even had to chance to break anything yet." A round of laughter was silenced by the Master's unchanging figure. Samus raised her eyebrows and looked at the Pikachu in her arms.

"Samus. You know the rules, only Advanced and Elite are allowed to be here." The Master Hand had quite the stern tone in his voice. "Pikachu, I'm sorry but I am going to have to ask you to leave."

Samus brushed her hair out of her face and hugged Pikachu closer to her body. "My Pika…" she whispered, running a hand down the creature's back. Her expression softened, but she quickly regained her intimidating atmosphere. "Besides, he's already here and he only missed the cut off by .1 points."

Sighing, the Master Hand said, "Fine, I will allow it." Samus smiled cheekily and Pikachu shifted in her grip to get a better view, eventually just climbing up on her shoulder. Shaking himself out, the Master said, "Continuing on, I must stress a point I made with Samus. What you hear in this room today must stay here. There will be no telling of secrets to anybody not in this place right here, right now. Is that clear?

A "yes" made its way through the small party.

"Good, now as most of you are aware, the tournament is mostly for entertainment purposes, showcasing your skills to all of the universes from which you hail. However, there is another reason that we are here. In this universe, there is a group called the Bringers of Madness. They have a belief that when we all accept madness that the world will be a better place and that once we embrace the five circumstances that make up madness, they will cease to exist."

Ike shifted uncomfortably in his place. This talk of "madness" and a group of people trying to bring it about sounded too surreal, too unreal to be true.

"This group is bent of delving the whole world into madness and insanity. Their leader is the most dangerous of them all. Maxwell Heilbinger is his name. He was once admitted to a psych ward where he escaped after managing to produce a powerful toxin from mere elements in his room. He is one of the craziest, yet most intelligent minds that I have ever come across. His access to money is unlimited and he has an endless line of contacts ready to do his bidding at a moment's notice. If any of the newer recruits have any questions on him, ask now."

"How did he escape?" asked Meta Knight.

Sighing, Master Hand floated up slightly higher and then back down, as if the act of breathing had become difficult. "The amount of blood he shed during that time was horrific. There was a serum…it was thought to cure a certain form of madness, but it had the side effect of thinning blood severely. It was first tested on Maxwell himself. However…rather than curing him, it produced the opposite effect. It enraged him, drove him to do even more desperate acts in order to "survive" as he put it. He killed one of the aides before he was finally subdued. Ever since that day, he had an addiction to killing, he gets a thrill off of it. One day, he stole some of the serum and began to inject it into others. A riot soon broke out. Once almost every guard, nurse, doctor, secretary, and janitor was dead, he turned on his former comrades, not trusting them. However, since they had all been injected, one cut to an area prone to bleeding was all it took to have them bleed out. It is said that he walked out of the asylum and laughed as he licked the blade of the knife that he still holds onto nowadays."

The air had grown quite tense, a nervousness filling the air. Sweat beaded the brows of many an attendee and even Samus' composure was beginning to slip. The idea of facing down a madman such as this, who would kill those that tried to help him, unnerved even a hardened veteran such as Ike. "Is he still addicted?" questioned Copycat. His voice was weak and dry.

"Yes." That was all Master Hand responded with. He seemed to be completely lost in thought.

Ike felt cold. He had dealt with maniacs and drug addicts before, they were a dime a dozen. But the idea of a man, who was not only insane, but addicted to killing, terrified him. He remembered the joy he had once received as he looked upon a slain target's face with a grim satisfaction. It had been so long ago, when he first started out, he thought that he had moved on from that stage. Ike jumped as he felt a touch upon his arm. He looked over into Zelda's concerned eyes. "Are you alright?" she whispered. "You're very pale."

Ike shook his head quickly, trying to clear his head, "Yea, I'll be fine, just…a little disturbed."

"Don't feel bad 'bout it," Samus murmured into Ike's ear. "Link over there damn near fainted the first time he heard this, and look around, everyone's nervous, even me."

Ike smiled back at Samus who was snuggling Pikachu tightly to her breast, like a small child would her teddy bear. Link, deciding to break the atmosphere, stated, "Master Hand, you mentioned the five circumstances, why don't you elaborate a bit for people like Ike."

"Good idea, Link, thank you." Master Hand quickly regained himself and loudly began to explain. "Madness, or insanity, if you prefer, is generally a term used to describe a state of mind that is not considered the norm. However, madness isn't necessarily one state, but rather a mixture of several factors that combine to form it. We all possess every single one of these in ourselves, but in small doses, and we also try to suppress them in some shape or form. They are as follows: Anger, Recklessness, Fear, Blindness, and Confusion. Before you all ask any questions, allow me to explain each one further."

"Anger is the most easily recognizable and common one of the bunch. Everybody has been angry before, it is an inescapable fact of life that one may never be able to fully understand, nor control. It invokes feelings of hatred and rage towards a person or object. When we are angry, our thought processes are clouded and we become prone to doing things out of character and violent. Anger relates to madness, not because all mad people are angry, but rather because of the clouded thought process. They have goals in mind that usually involve destruction and often act of vengeance for things that have made them angry in the past. Anger is often countered by being calm. When you are calm, compared to an enraged opponent, they become even angrier, which in the end will fizzle itself out." Master Hand took a pause and seemed to gaze upon the small crowd.

Continuing, he said, "The next factor is a level of Recklessness that is unparalleled to most others. We all do rash things, but madmen do almost everything capriciously and without warning. Doing reckless acts can be dangerous and cause more harm than good in both the short and long term. Samus has quite a bit of experience with this one."

Samus stuck her middle finger up at him and then motioned for him to continue.

"Those who dwell in insanity will do things without a thought of the repercussions that might follow. They think of an idea and they do it. It's this disregard for the possibility of a negative consequence that can make them dangerous and volatile. When fighting a person who displays reckless tendencies, I would recommend attempting to find patterns in their randomness, although they will be completely unpredictable."

Ike and Zelda glanced back at Samus. She shrugged her eyebrows quickly to let them know she knew they were looking at her, but her eyes didn't move. Zelda looked at Ike and shrugged as Master Hand moved on.

"Fear is one of the more interesting variables in this equation. Small doses of fear are actually quite good to have and necessary to keep on living. Should you not fear anything, you are more likely to do things that can easily kill you, even if they are well thought out. However, too much fear will begin to limit you. Rather than take important and intelligent risks, or take an opportunity, one will cower away. This type of fear is the kind I wish that our enemies had, the one that made them run and hide. No, they have the more paranoid type of fear. It is debilitating nonetheless, but it combines the worst of both having overwhelming fear and absolutely none. They will do horrible things, things that most of us are scared to do, because they are terrified of something. Maxwell, for example, was scared of more testing to be done on him, so he killed everyone, innocents included." Master Hand drew in a breath to who knows where and was about to continue before Kirby stopped him.

"We should take a break," he stated.

"I agree, wholeheartedly, Master Hand," Shade said. He was the only one in the room not sweating, pale, or otherwise visibly unnerved.

With a wave of his body, Master Hand agreed. "Everyone be back in this little cluster in five minutes."

Several groups quickly formed, with most of the newer members being singled out. Alanis went to a corner and sat down, one of her eyes peering out into the room, carefully inspecting everything. Copycat began to speak with Kirby and Meta Knight, and Shade chatted with Marth. Ike joined Zelda, Link, Samus, and Pikachu in a small circle. Pikachu scrambled up to Samus' shoulder as she pulled out a cigarette, but a stern glare from Zelda cut her off.

Groaning Samus said, "Fine, but just cause there's no windows in here." She turned to Ike and asked, "So how's the intro party?"

Ike exhaled and put his hand onto Aether's handle. "It's intense, but the one question I have is…"

Link cut him off. "If it's about Crazy Hand, don't ask, he won't tell." Link crossed his arms and stared Ike down...for no apparent reason.

"I was going to ask where Roy is," Ike corrected, slightly annoyed with the undeserved spite he was receiving from Link. The group shuffled nervously. Ike scratched the back of his head. _Or don't tell me, not like I don't know what's going on. _He thought that to himself.

Zelda spoke up first. "We're going to talk about that, but the short version is that Roy has been captured."

Ike smirked. Link crossed his eyes at him. "It's not funny; he could be in mortal danger!" Link began to grow a little bit red, but a hand from Zelda seemed to calm him down a bit.

"It's not funny, but I promise you, knowing Roy, he'll be fine."

"Everyone back to the stage please!" called Master Hand as he resumed his place upon the stage. The groups meshed back into one as Master Hand continued. "Confusion is another pretty self-explanatory one. Most madmen aren't confused in the normal sense, as in they've lost direction or by a set of instructions, but rather by why things are the way they are. They are confused as to why people act the way they do, whether it be a morally good or wrong decision. They are confused by the most basic functions of life, and as such they often seem as if they've lost their way as they are traveling down a path. Now, this should not be confused with philosophy, which is purposely asking why and attempting to draw rational conclusions. No, these are people who literally confused and will attempt to rationalize everything. They've lost their ability to function without asking why and rather than being able to rationalize it, they are only more lost in their own myriad of equally confusing thoughts." Master Hand stopped and gauged the reactions of his champions. The break was definitely needed as most had regained their poker-faces and the few who hadn't were doing their best to hide it.

"Finally," announced Master Hand, "We have blindness. By now you could probably guess that I don't mean that they are physically blind, although some are. This merely means that once they get an idea that they firmly believe in, they become blind to all others and the consequences of their choice. And when I say blind, I mean it. They become so obsessed with the idea that they see as correct that they will do anything in their power to achieve the right, regardless of their reasons for doing so. Blindness will almost always lead to single-mindedness, which has a terrifying amount of power."

"All of these that I have spoken about are merely parts of ourselves that we learn to live with every day. However, those who are insane have either lost control of these symptoms or willingly embraced them. Also, an overabundance of any one can be the catalyst to another, so watch yourselves." Mast Hand stopped and laid down on the stage, stretching his fingers one at a time, causing a sickening crack to come from each one.

A small wave of murmurs flowed through the crowd and people discussed what the Master Hand had concluded in saying, but Ike finally could not take it anymore. He stepped forward and shot Master Hand a look that should have killed him…if he had eyes. "What happened to Roy?" Ike nearly shouted. He was frustrated and refused to be kept in the dark any longer.

Everyone in the room stared at Ike, but he stood just as strong, meeting every gaze with his own. Master Hand seemed to smile, as weird as the thought might be, but he did. "I am glad you asked Ike, because that leads directly into my next point." Turning his attention to the audience Master Hand stated, "That is the true reason this organization exists. We must fight the Bringers of Madness, and some other minor crime organizations that wealthy people want gone, of which we are only too happy to oblige and accept generous donations. Anyway, you all will be sent out into this universe, known as Realinad, on a version of the planet Earth. You will do this in small groups of no less than three and no more than five. When you are sent out, I will have given you a task to accomplish, generally to either obtain information or to take out a segment of the Bringers. To do this, you will all be granted clothes to blend you into society. As this is a universe dominated by humans, those of you who are not will be changed completely."

"Missions will be given to those who prove themselves not in the arena, but out in the field. Those who consistently succeed will be given the more intense ones, while those aren't as adept at field work will be given lower level ones." Master Hand took a pause to collect his thoughts and continued. "Now, Ike, you will get your answers. Roy has been kidnapped by the Bringers, and more importantly by the mistress of Maxwell, Helena DuVeil. We don't know how or why they chose Roy, but he's not going to be set free until they are sure his mind is in shambles. After a few trial missions, my brother and I will select five people in this very room to attempt a rescue mission. Marth, you and Captain Falcon are out of the question, however, due to the Bringers knowing about the connections you have with Roy." Marth nodded and Captain Falcon crossed his arms and began to pout. "The first large mission we have," Master Hand continued, "Will be to rescue Roy and hopefully destroy the hideout that he's being kept in."

"Where is this hideout?" Ike asked professionally, although he had an idea that this was going to lead nowhere.

"We have no clue," Master Hand responded, although it was clear that he was withholding something from them. "In the meantime we will work to combat these people as much as possible and have a good time whilst we do so! Thank you all for your time, you may head back to your rooms now!" Master Hand snapped and suddenly Ike was back in his own room. Aether was leaning against the wall, his cape was hanging off of the bed, and…Zelda was looking confused.

"Ugh, he can never get that teleport quite right. One of us ALWAYS ends up in another's room." Zelda complained, placing her hand on her forehead and then running it through her dark blonde hair. Ike stared at her for a second as she looked at her reflection in the refrigerator door. She really was quite a beautiful girl, but only time would tell if he looks matched her personality. Ike had learned that generally the more lovely a girl, the worse she was, although Zelda didn't really seem like that.

"Hey, Zelda."

"Yes?" she responded, turning around quickly. "Oh, right, not my room! I'll just be leaving then."

"No, it's not that," Ike said, watching as Zelda placed her hand on the doorknob to leave. She faced him and he continued, "Did it seem like Master Hand was…holding back something from us, something involving Roy? It seems like it was too simple, too easy for an advanced organization. Just to test us, then rush us in and save him. It's too…poetic I want to say."

Zelda's hand dropped from the door and she said, "I agree with you, but for now, it's best just to lay low and see what happens." Ike threw up his hands and began to pace around the room.

"I'm a mercenary, I'm kind of used to having everything laid out for me so I know exactly what I'm dealing with and how to do it."

"Sounds pretty easy to me," Zelda remarked with a smirk on her face.

Ike smiled as well and conceded, "Yes, but I've never done anything this big before." He grasped Aether's hilt and drummed his fingers on it, enjoying the well-worn grip left by his hand after so many years of use.

"Don't worry," Zelda assuaged, "You won't do it alone, and you've got a bunch of allies here."

Ike looked at her and nodded his head. "That remains to be seen."

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked, moving steadily closer to Ike.

"Well, Link doesn't seem to particularly care for me."

Zelda rolled her eyes and said, "Link's just a tad overprotective. He's pretty much convinced himself that every new guy he meets wants to kidnap me and hold me hostage or something." Ike nodded once again and took off his boots and shoulder pads, stretching whilst doing so. He cracked his neck and noticed Zelda staring at him.

"Need something?"

Zelda blushed lightly, but turned in time so that Ike didn't notice. She had been watching him take off his armor and just now noticed how toned he really was. Link was in great shape and strong as anything, but he was also scrawny and felt like a rock solid twig sometimes. Ike had bulk to him, but he wasn't overly muscular. "No, I'll be going now." She walked to the door, but Ike called one last thing after her.

"Hey, I want a rematch sometime, alright?" He smiled and pointed at Zelda comically.

Zelda laughed and responded, "Eager to get your ass kicked a second time?" She quickly covered her mouth and blush, but Ike roared with laughter. Rolling her eyes once again Zelda stated, "Goodnight, Ike." With that she left the room and shut the door.

**A/N: Okay, it's been about six months since I've updated this fic and here's the reason why. I had to shift some files around on my computer and the one holding this story got lost in all the rearrangement. For a few months it was an "out of sight, out of mind" kind of thing. Once I remembered, it took me forever to find it. THEN I didn't care for what I'd written, so I erased it all and started the chapter anew. The end. **

**Concerning the fic, I hope you all can see why I chose the characters I did. Each one ties into one of the main forms of insanity. I'll give a cookie to those who can guess it correctly. (You don't really get a cookie.)**

**One last thing, don't criticize my definition of insanity or the way I portray it. It's a fucking story, people.**


	4. The First Mission

Sweat beaded on Ike's forehead as he swung his fist heavily into the bag hanging about a foot in front of him. A loud thud echoed through the room as he connected with his target. The bag was given no reprieve as Ike's other fist slammed into it with just as much force as the previous one. One after another blows were landed on the bag as the chain jingled mockingly; it dared Ike to punch it that much harder, to try and detach it from the bag. It had been several days since Ike had arrived at the mansion and after several victories over Intermediate level fighters and one loss against Samus; Ike decided that the Advanced tier was where he would be situated if he didn't improve. It was now three in the morning, but Ike couldn't sleep. He had suffered from insomnia ever since he was little and he knew that it was better to use the time for something productive rather than just sitting on his butt wishing he could sleep. He was also awake for another reason. Tomorrow, or rather, later that day, he would be sent on his first mission. It was going to be a large group, the maximum five members going. The mission wasn't dangerous, Master Hand just wanted as much information without sending people out on too many missions. The people going were himself, Zelda, Link, Samus, and Pikachu; although he wasn't supposed to even know about this stuff. Fortunately he had gotten along with everyone, even Link. Samus was as crude as ever, but she at least seemed to be friendly towards Ike, even offering him advice on watching his blind side after their match.

"What are you doing up?" asked a male voice incredulously.

Ike, who had been trapped in a mire of thoughts, was stunned for a moment as he slowly regained focus. He turned to who had spoken. Link was standing in the doorway. He was wearing his nightclothes, a plain white t-shirt, heavy sweat pants, and a green sleeping cap. Ike, who was wearing a solid black wife-beater style shirt and blue flannel pants grinned sheepishly and responded, "Sorry, can't sleep." Ike took off the wraps on his hand and dabbed his brow with a towel, sitting down on a bench in the process. He let out a heavy breath.

Link smiled and rolled his eyes. "You muscle heads, always gotta act all tough and dramatic." Link sat down on the bench across from Ike.

"You twigs, always so brittle," Ike countered with a chuckle. He took a swig from a water bottle he had placed next to his stuff. There was silence for a while until Ike asked, "By the way, what are you still doing up?"

"My room's right above here. I can hear you slamming that thing pretty well." Ike nodded in satisfaction and there was silence once more. "You nervous?" Link asked with a sly smile.

"Not really, it's just scouting. If we have to do any fighting, Aether and I got it covered." Ike replied confidently. He wasn't nervous. He had killed many people and animals before, it was nothing new and he didn't care if anyone saw. He would be gone before they could utter the word "help."

Link pulled out a cigarette and twirled it in his hand. Ike looked at him with disgust. "Don't worry, I don't smoke; Zel would kill me if I did. Samus asked me to hide it for her while Master Hand searches her room."

"Is she really that desperate for it that she can't go a week, she only has two more days, I believe." Ike responded, shrugging a duffel bag up on to his shoulder.

"It's more just because Master Hand says she's not supposed to, I think. Anyway, you ever seen who we're fighting?"

Ike shook his head slowly. "I assumed they'd just be humans with guns"

Link stood and stretched before yawning. "They're human alright, but they've changed. You can see it in their eyes. They're stark white, like there was nothing ever there." Ike's memory instantly flashed to Shade's eyes. His were an eerie, milky white. Seeming to pick up on Ike's thoughts, Link said, "No, Shade is different. He has an iris and pupils. Their eyes are literally just white, nothing in them. If you see that and they're not performing with a sign next to them, strike."

"Thanks for the tip."

"It's nothing. Now, I'm going back to bed and you should too. Or at least get a shower, you stink." Link laughed as he jogged away, his arms hanging by his sides sleepily.

Ike shook his head and headed upstairs to his room.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Back in his room, he let down his bag with a soft thud. He went over to the small kitchen and pulled out a glass from the sink. He switched on the faucet and filled his cup. He had learned how to use most of the things in the mansion thanks to the others, but he still wasn't going to be watching TV without someone else for fear of somehow locking it or having it explode. After he'd finished his glass, he set it to the side, glancing at it occasionally. Finally, he grabbed it and reached on top of his fridge for a bottle of whiskey, courtesy of Samus. Ike wasn't a heavy drinker, but he did like some every once in a while. He uncorked the top and poured a small bit of the alcohol into his cup. He placed the top back in and returned the bottle to its place.

Ike picked up the glass and walked over to a full wall window. He was lucky enough to get a corner room so he peered out over the grassy and hilly landscape. The moon was bright that night but clouds drifted lazily over it every now and again, changing the area ever so slightly. When the clouds covered the moon everything seemed so dark and scary, like everything was just waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting presence. When the moon came out, it banished the mystery back into its recesses. Ike swirled the amber liquid in his glass then took a small sip. He enjoyed these peaceful times. The times when everything was still and there was room for imagination and a false manipulation of reality, it was truly relaxing. Basically, it was fun to fuck things up in his mind.

As Ike watched the night go by, he noticed movement across the field. It was cloudy, so he couldn't see exactly who or what it was, but he instinctively crouched lower and took another sip of his drink. The moon was revealed and as such revealed the identity of the movement. It was Shade. He was wearing a red sweatshirt with blue jeans on. Ike could see that his feet were bare. He didn't have his swords on him and his hair was tied back.

Ike shook his head. _What's he doing down there?_ Ike thought to himself. Master Hand had explained that in this dimension there were numerous dangerous creatures specific to this place, some of which only came out at night. Ike took another drink and realized he was finished. He pouted for a moment then placed it on the table beside his bed. Looking back at Shade, Ike saw more movement, something very clearly not humanoid. It slithered on the ground and creepily moved closer and closer to Shade. More clouds parted so that the being was in full view. The skin was and diminished red color, closer to cold skin than anything else. Cuts lined its body and blisters popped every now and again. Two beady orange eyes were like miniature sonar devices, locking onto their target with pinpoint accuracy. The monster opened its mouth and revealed a row of jagged, pointed teeth. A tongue snaked its way out of the mouth and glided over the snake's entire body, making it glisten. It was called an Abmam, a dangerous, snake-like creature. They had a tendency to grow up to twelve or thirteen feet in length. It continued its way over to shade as Ike resisted the urge to scream for Shade to turn around.

However, right as the Abmam lifted its head up, not a foot away from Shade, he turned and spotted it. However, rather than running or trying to kill it, Ike watched in disbelief as Shade smiled and held out his hand. The Abmam opened its mouth and clamped down as Ike winced. Shade, however, remained perfectly still and smiling. Finally, the snake opened its mouth from Shade's hand and he lifted it up in the light as if to show the world that he was unharmed. He then put his hand down and the Abmam began to slither up his arm, into his sleeve and onto his chest. Shade stood up and then removed his sweatshirt, revealing his bare top. The Abmam squirmed unnervingly all over his chest and arms. He began walking back towards the mansion entrance and was lost to Ike's view.

Ike moved away from the window and shook his head once more. That was one of the creepiest things that he'd ever seen. Not only had Shade just let one of the more infamous creatures of the night bite him, but he'd just let it crawl all over him. Ike lay down in his bed and began staring at the ceiling. He had a few hours to kill until the early morning breakfast goers came down, so he decided to start drawing lines in the ceiling with his mind.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike opened his eyes with a start as his clock began to beep at him. He wasn't even aware that he'd fallen asleep for a few hours. The time read 6:30 in the morning. Ike enjoyed getting up early, it let him eat breakfast in peace and leave before everyone started to question him about his latest contracts. He sat up erect and then stood. He twisted a few times and looked back at his bed. He never bothered to actually get under his sheets for the night so he straightened everything out and then grabbed his key and headed out the door. The hallways were quiet as Ike silently walked past several doors, down two sets of stairs and into the café. The interior was mostly empty and since the café faced west, the sun didn't glare directly into it and gave it a comfortable atmosphere. Only three others were in there, Zelda, who was reading a book as she sipped coffee out of a mug, Lucas, who nervously picked at his eggs and bacon on his plate, and Wolf, who was smoking a cigarette next to an open window. Ike pulled up a chair across from Zelda and said, "Morning."

Zelda glanced up and smiled lightly. "Good morning," she responded and went back to reading her book. Ike sat back in his chair and waited as Sheila arrived over to him. Ike ordered a plate of biscuits and an apple. He then placed his hands, folded together, on the table and began to wait. He knew not to bother Zelda while she was reading in the morning, but he took the time to look at her. Her hair was braided low and she was wearing a thin sweatshirt over her nightgown. Her eyes remained glued to her book as they scanned line after line, word after word, letter after letter. Her foot tapping echoed faintly in the empty room.

Sheila arrived back with a plate of biscuits topped with gravy and placed a shiny green apple next to it. "Anything to drink, hun?" she asked.

"Coffee."

"Black?"

"You know me too well," Ike responded friendly. Sheila smiled and headed back behind a counter. She grabbed a pitcher of coffee and a mug. When she returned to the table, she placed the mug on the table and poured the coffee. She then reached over to where Zelda's mug was half full and filled it completely, then dropped a creamer and packet of sugar next to it. She left with a wink.

Zelda looked up and blinked as Ike began to devour his breakfast. "Was Sheila just here?"

"Yea," Ike mumbled through a mouthful of hot biscuit and gravy.

Zelda blinked again and placed her book down, putting an elegant bookmark to keep her place. "I'll thank her later." Zelda smiled at Ike who was now taking a huge bite out of his apple. "Hungry much?"

After swallowing Ike said, "Yea, couldn't sleep last night so I started training, I am starving!" Ike took another large bite of biscuit and sipped some of his coffee.

Zelda rolled her eyes and said sweetly, "You're a piggy." She took her own steaming cup and prepared to take a sip, but stopped and her eyes grew wide.

Ike turned and saw two people entering the café. One was Eon Angelos. He was wearing a sleeveless white t-shirt with camo shorts held by a silver belt. He had a cross necklace and a halo above his head, similar to Pit's. He took a seat at the same table as Lucas and ordered something from Sheila. The second person was Samus. She was a complete mess. Her blonde hair was tangled and in her face. She wore a plain white t-shirt, which made it very clear that she wasn't wearing a bra and gray shorts. She stumbled over to the table that Ike and Zelda were at. She sat down heavily and with a grunt. After blowing hair out of her face, she slammed her head down on her arms and moaned loudly.

Zelda gently patted Samus' head but had her hand swatted away. "Ugh, you know not to do that in the mornings, princess." Samus spat the words like venom.

Zelda smirked and stated, "You never get up before ten unless you have a mission and ours doesn't start until 11, what's up?"

"I fell out of my damn bed and now my head hurts like shit!" Samus complained, lifting her head up in the process and waving one of the other servers, Mike, over. She quickly ordered a ham sandwich, a beer, and two aspirin. Silence permeated the café once more. Lucas had finished and left without being noticed by anyone. Eon had received his food and now had his hands clasped together and head bowed in what many would assume to be prayer. Ike was continuing to eat and Zelda began to read her book once more before Samus shouted, "Hey, why the hell does the talking wolf with the unoriginal name get to smoke, but I can't!"

Wolf's eyes grew wide as he desperately tried to get rid of the cigarette. He only managed to throw it out the window, still lit. Sheila rushed over and poured a pitcher of water on it, making sure the grass didn't catch fire outside. Samus glared at Wolf as he hastily exited the café.

Samus' food arrived and she shook her head. After taking the cap off her beer with her teeth, she drank some and then popped two aspirin in her mouth, swallowing quickly. "Okay, give me a second." She shook her head furiously and her hair somehow managed to straighten itself. She pulled it into her high ponytail and then began to pick at her sandwich.

Ike smirked at Zelda and thought to himself, _I can't wait to be stuck with her for the next few days._ Zelda smiled back, drained the last of her coffee and stood up.

"I'll be getting ready if you need me. When Link can't find his hookshot, it's under his bed."

Ike laughed, Eon broke prayer to chuckle, and even Samus managed to smile.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike was now waiting in the foyer. His armor was on and Aether was next to him in its sheath, leaned up against a pillar. A small bag filled with clothes, toiletries, and the picture he had taken with him was by his feet. He drummed his fingers on his arm. Samus was in her full suit besides her helmet and the gun on her arm. She was carefully polishing it and checking it for any imperfections or damage. She also had a bag next to her, which Pikachu was dozing on top of. Ike thought it funny what Pikachu's human form could possibly look like.

"Link, your shoes are on the wrong feet!" chastised Zelda as she walked down ahead of Link. She was wearing her dress and had two bags. One was a smaller backpack and the other was a heavy duffel, presumably with Link's belongings. Link followed behind her in his classic green attire, without shoes as he tried to walk down stairs and put on shoes. Zelda walked to the middle of the foyer as Link put on his shoes, on the correct feet this time. He got up, blushing and Zelda shoved his bag into his arms, rolling her eyes in the process. "What would you do without me?"

"Have uncomfortable feet?" Ike suggested. A round of laughter, especially from Zelda, came from the group.

Link shouldered his bag and said, "Believe me; my hat would probably be on my butt right now without Zel." Zelda lightly punched Link in the shoulder as another laugh made its way from person to person to Pokemon.

After everything quieted down, a rush of wind announced the presence of Master Hand. He seemed to be smiling, but Ike couldn't tell for sure. "Hello, you all, how are you today?

"Someone is in a chipper mood today," Samus commented, placing her gun on her arm and locking it into place. She put her helmet under one arm, lightly pushed Pikachu off her bag and hefted it over her head and onto her opposite shoulder. Ike did the same with Aether and pulled the strings on his burlap sack of a bag and picked it up. He did prefer to have some of his old things with him.

"I'm just a tad excited for the first mission of the season. For two of you it is your first mission so I will go over a few things for you. First, all of your armor or suits or any other anomaly that wouldn't allow you to fit in with the rest of this universe's society will be changed into regular clothing. Link, Zelda, you know what happens to your ears. Pikachu, you get to experience being a human for a little while." Master Hand explained.

"Pika!"

"Second, if you need any of your armor or weapons, merely think about it and it will appear to you. However, you won't be able to get it if you don't truly need it. Also, the humans will not be able to see anything like that. Ike, they would see you with a rusty pipe beating on a man or beast, for example. Finally, I will try to tailor your outfits to your individual tastes." Master Hand stopped and floated over to the teleporters that usually took contestants to the waiting rooms. "These have been calibrated," Master Hand said methodically, "To take you to your destination, which is Chicago, Illinois. It's a big city in this universe where there have been reports of activity. However, watch out for any local gangs or other criminals, we don't want to shed more blood than necessary."

"And if one does attack us?" Ike questioned.

"Kill them," Master Hand stated, although it was more of an order. "The reports are in a better part of the city, so I hope that you won't run into too much trouble, just be careful at night, especially you girls."

Zelda looked at Samus who just shrugged as if she was bored. "Let's just go then!" Samus exclaimed impatiently. She walked over to one of the teleporters and stepped inside, allowing the glass door to close behind her. She motioned for the others to step into theirs and then put on her helmet, obscuring her face.

Everyone began filing in, with much hesitation from Ike. Finally everyone was in and Master Hand pulled a large button from who-knows-where. "One last thing," he said. "Do have fun, explore a bit while you work!" With that, he pressed the button and the teleporters whirred to life, creating five bright flashes before revealing five empty containers.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Ike pressed his eyes close as tightly as he could. Wind rushed past his face and slapped skin against skin. Aether's sheath strap dug into a crook in his shoulder armor and he felt as if his boots were coming off. Suddenly, his back felt very light and he frantically put a hand there. Aether and his armor were gone, replaced by a somewhat tough fabric. However, before Ike could process what had just happened, everything stopped. He felt his feet touch solid, carpeted ground, and the wind died down.

He opened his eyes and he looked around the room in a slight panic. He was obviously in another hotel. Cheap art hung from the white-washed walls. Two beds were evenly spaced apart and a brown bed stand was in between them. The carpet was blood red and there was a dresser next to him. A mirror rested on the wall above the dresser. Ike looked in it and was shocked at what he saw. His hair was still its natural dark blue color and he still had his red headband, but it had been turned into more of a folded bandana. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a navy blue button-up shirt on top of it. The buttons were wide open. He had heavy cargo shorts on and tennis shoes. He looked himself over and noticed that there were no physical changes to him, of which he was quite relieved.

Two flashes of light brought Ike's attention to where Zelda and Link were now standing. It was very clear that their ears were now round and they seemed a little less elfish. Link had a very tight, but long, green shirt on with tight khaki pants, showing how skinny he truly was. There were also sunglasses on his face with a black fedora resting on top of his mop of blonde hair. He looked at himself in the mirror and adjusted his hat so it was further towards the back. He smiled and touched his ears a few times. Zelda still had a sort of elegant beauty to her. She was wearing pink tank-top and white pants. She was wearing sandals with no back to them and had long earrings on her rounded off ears. She smiled at Ike and said, "You look good."

Ike nodded at her and said, "You do, as well."

Link jumped in the middle and laughed, "Well I think I'm lookin' pretty sexy myself." Ike softly slugged him in the shoulder while Zelda giggled and rolled her eyes.

One more flash and Samus appeared. She had on a loose black shirt that hung off one shoulder and a leather jacket that also hung off of her shoulders. Heavy military pants adorned her legs and she wore thick, black leather boots. Her hair was down, but combed out. She had aviator-style sunglasses that reflected Ike's face back at him and an unlit cigarette hung loosely out of her mouth. She strode to the mirror confidently and pulled her jacket up over her shoulders. "Damn, Hand, I'm not _that_ much of a slut." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and pulled a lighter out of her jacket pocket. She smirked gleefully, saying, "At least he gave me this." She flipped the top and the small flame jumped out. After lighting her cigarette she walked over to a screen door and opened it, leaning in the doorframe and blowing the smoke out onto the tiny balcony.

One final flash revealed a rather petite girl, much to Ike, Zelda, and Link's surprise. She had long and wavy, light blonde hair with big brown eyes. Her face had a heavy natural blush to it and her lips were small. She was not very curvy or well-endowed, but still had a certain cuteness to her. She was wearing a tight yellow shirt and a red skirt that was just down to her thighs. She quickly pushed people out of the way and looked at herself, touching her face and then looking at each of her five fingers. She felt her smooth skin which was such an eerie feeling to one used to being covered in fur. She turned and opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Finally, she said, "Hi, guys."

"Pikachu?" Zelda asked incredulously. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me!" she squealed ecstatically. "So this is what it's like to walk on long legs!" She walked up to where Ike, Link, and Zelda were standing, but she only came up to Zelda's chin. She frowned slightly in disappointment and complained, "And I'm still shorter than all of you!" She sat down on the bed and crossed her legs when she remembered that she was wearing a skirt.

"Umm, Pikachu…" Link stammered out.

"Yes?" she answered perkily

Link put a hand to his mouth and then said, "I didn't know that you were a girl."

Zelda and Ike nodded their heads whilst Samus broke into a hearty laughter. Pikachu blushed heavier than what was already on her face and crossed her arms, but seemed surprise to find her breasts there. "Yes, I am a girl!" she practically yelled. "Did you all not bother to check on my profile?"

The two warriors and Zelda looked at each other bashfully. Samus dropped the last few ashes of her cigarette off the side of the balcony and then threw the butt into an empty flower pot. She sat down next to Pikachu and gave her a hug. "I'm going to have so much fun explaining all the wondrous things you get to experience as a human!"

Pikachu looked at Samus curiously and asked, "Like what?" Her voice was like that of an innocent child.

Samus chortled and whispered something in her ear. Pikachu began to blush so heavily that her face could have been mistaken for a cherry. "Boys," Samus stated, turning to Link and Ike. "I'd suggest leaving and going to the bar or something."

"Yes, I'd have to agree," Ike said hurriedly and quickly dashed out of the room, letting Link out before he called to Zelda, "Are you coming, or staying?"

Zelda looked at Pikachu's still blushing face and said, "I think I should stay here to make sure Samus doesn't scar the poor girl for life." Samus smiled proudly.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

When Pikachu exited the one of three hotel rooms that were mysteriously rented out to the five of them, she was holding herself and shuddered a few times. Zelda smirked quietly whilst Samus was still enjoying herself to no end. "So, how do like being a human female so far?" she asked jokingly.

Pikachu glared at Samus and her hands sparked a little bit. "Can we please stop talking about all of the necessary things I need to do?"

"Oh come on, I'm sure some Pikachu things are just as bad!" Samus wrapped an arm around her and laughed once more.

"No, other than heat and keeping clean, we don't really have to worry about certain…aspects of our lives as much." Pikachu shrugged Samus' arm off and said, "Besides, it's not like I'm going to be stuck in this form for more than a few days at a time, right?"

Zelda put her hand one her chin and replied, "Actually, some missions can last longer than a month…so…" Zelda trailed off as Pikachu sighed heavily.

"Fun shit, eh?" Samus asked. She was getting an unusual amount of pleasure from all of the teasing. "Can't wait to take you to the section on convenience stores where men never dare to tread!" Pikachu looked at Samus, her eyes becoming a little bit misty. She didn't particularly mind if people teased her, but with issues like that thrust upon her, she was getting rather hurt and uncomfortable. She began to walk faster down the hallway and disappeared down a set of stairs, albeit a little bit clumsily.

Zelda glared at Samus and admonished, "You seriously are pushing it. She's new to the whole mission thing and she doesn't need you making a big deal out of her newer anatomy!"

Samus, who was usually quick to come up with a rebuttal, looked at the staircase as she watched Pikachu holding onto the railing as she slowly made her way down to the bottom floor. She felt guilty for making her cry and desperately wanted to apologize. "Let's go find the guys," she suggested quietly. "There's a bar right next door, so they'll probably be there." She then hurried down the stairs and quickly steadied Pikachu as she nearly fell down.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

"Look, all I'm saying is that a one-handed blade is far superior to a two-handed one," Link stated confidently. He and Ike were sitting in a dive bar directly next to the hotel. They were in a booth and speaking quietly. There was a beer in front of each of them and they both kept an eye out, somewhat lazily, for any signs of specific activity. However, they had long grown bored and were now debating whether the Master Sword or Aether was better, quietly, of course.

"I know you can hold a shield with it, but I can block just fine with Aether," Ike countered, taking a small sip of his bottled beer.

Link sighed and said, "It has all sorts of uses. You can bash with it."

"The pommel."

"You can disarm with it."

"I have a technique for that."

Link's face was getting a bit red with anger and he threw up his hands in exasperation. "Fine, you win, two-handed is better than one! Happy?"

Ike half-smiled and rolled the nearly empty bottle between his hands. "How about we call it even, you stick with yours, and I stick with mine."

"Fine, whatever." Link grabbed his cup and took a long gulp, downing the rest of his drink. He set it on the edge of the table and watched as the door opened and the girls walked in. They made their way over to where Link and Ike were sitting, but both men noticed the looks they were getting from many of the males in the place. Zelda took a seat next to Link, moving somewhat close to him. Samus sat next to Ike and he could have sworn he saw her wink at some burly guy at the counter. There were no more spaces on the booth so Pikachu grabbed a chair from an unused table and placed it at the end of theirs. She crossed her arms and smiled lightly at Ike and Link.

"Did you guys actually get anything done, or did you just sit here and drink the funds Master Hand gave us away?" Samus asked, making a very strong attempt not to look at Pikachu.

"We looked around for a bit, but we didn't mind anything relevant," Ike responded professionally. He pulled out a map with several locations circled. "I think that we should be in groups of two," he stated. "It can be Link and Zelda, me and Pikachu, and Samus; I think you can handle yourself."

Zelda twisted her fingers together and said, "Why do you have Pikachu and me as the helpless damsels?" She sounded very indignant.

"I don't, it's just you two don't exactly look the part for wandering around a city alone. As powerful as I know you both are, I don't want to take any chances. Samus will be fine, she at least look like she knows what she's doing," Ike nodded at Samus and she nodded back.

"Believe me; I've had to deal with worse creeps than these." She took a long look around, but her eyes seemed to constantly come back to one man who kept glancing over his shoulder at the group. Samus turned back to the table where Ike was pointing out different places that Master Hand suggested.

Link looked impressed. "You sure do know a lot about this type of stuff."

"Thanks, as a mercenary, you kind of have to know a lot. You get more work that way," he explained.

Suddenly, Pikachu squeaked shrilly. The man Samus had been observing was behind her and had his hands on her hips. He was rather large and looked like he could have eaten her if he wanted to. He wore a skull-covered bandana and a heavily stained white shirt. His jeans were ripped and he wore dirty shoes. He had the same mirrored sunglasses that Samus wore, only he had them on inside, Samus did not. "Hello, sweetie, want to come in the back with me?" He spoke the words like he was attempting to be suave, but came across more as creepy. The heavy scent of alcohol penetrating everyone's nostrils did not help his case either.

"Umm…no…n-no…no thank you…" Pikachu stammered softly, attempting to gently remove the man's hands off from her waist. All she succeeded in doing was moving them higher up, closer to her breasts.

"It's okay, my lovely, I know how to handle virgins," he whispered.

Pikachu desperately looked at the others at the table. Samus was the first to speak. "Look, if you really want to fuck someone that badly, let's just go, honey." Her speech was direct and had a bit of a sultry edge to it. She stood and let her jacket fall off of her, moving her body elegantly towards the large man. She grasped his hands with hers and delicately removed them from Pikachu's body.

"Okay, let's go then!" the man said eagerly.

Samus gave him a small smile, like a black widow enticing her prey. She turned on her heels and the man turned with her, placing a hand on her butt in the process. She looked back at her friends and gave a sly wink.

Pikachu quivered slightly as the door in the back shut behind the two. She looked at Zelda and asked worriedly, "She's not really going to do…it…with that man…is she?"

Zelda smiled. "No, she has something up her sleeve."

"Or she knows something that we don't," Ike speculated. "She was already watching that man when she came in."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement and went back to planning.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

The area in the back was more of a storage closet that had a ratty old bed, stained so many times that it could have been white at one point and one would never know. Samus had already removed her boots, rather slowly and sensually and her feet were cold against the hard stone. The man had taken off his bandana, revealing a mess of tangled brown hairs. He took off his shirt to show off his somewhat flabby body to Samus.

He had tattoos of various things that could be described as a teenage boy's version of what is "badass." Samus slowly walked over to him and pushed him down on the bed, leaning over him with a heavy breath. Her cleavage was directly in his line of sight and she spoke in a wraith-like voice. "Now, isn't someone ready for this…" she trailed off as she felt an unexpected slap on her ass. "My my, you are eager aren't you."

"Heh, you're just as eager, especially once you see it." He sounded so immature and juvenile that Samus wondered if her intuition was correct in the first place.

However, she continued the façade and gradually ran her hands up his chest, sending shivers up his spine. She fingered the rims of his glasses and whispered, "Come now, take these off, I want to see those sexy little eyes of yours." If he wanted to be a juvenile, Samus could play one just as well.

The man smiled and gave Samus a lovely view of his yellow teeth. "I'm not supposed to, but because you asked so nicely."

The man was so cheesy Samus could practically feel herself becoming less and less aroused, despite his constant probing around her private areas. She took one of her hands off him and moved it down into her pocket as she pulled off his glasses. His eyes had nothing in them; they were just empty white shells that seemed to be unable to focus. Samus' hunch had been right on the money.

She pressed her lips shut to suppress the joy she felt. She couldn't be sure what Pikachu would've done if he'd revealed his eyes to her, if she would have even known what to make of the situation Samus now found herself in. The hand in her pocket closed around a plastic handle and she drew out a small knife, like one you would find in a hunting kit. The man's blank eyes grew wide as he tried to push Samus off of him, but she was far stronger than she looked and the man was more flab than muscle. She placed the cold steel against the man's neck and grinned maniacally. She pressed ever so slightly as to draw blood and let it flow down his chest, almost reaching her shirt.

"Master Hand sends his regards," Samus' words slithered into the man's ears like poison.

"Damn you," he murmured. "What do you want to know, in exchange for my life?" The man obviously had been trained what to say in this situation.

Samus giggled sadistically. "Oh no…you don't leave here alive." The man's eyes widened and he started attempting to thrash, but the pressure of the knife on his neck increased and he settled down. Samus placed her mouth next to his ear and whispered, "That would have been the case, but then you decided to mess with my friend…no one touches anybody like that and lives, you sorry excuse for human existence." With that, she plunged the knife into his neck, dodged a spurt of blood and picked herself and her boots up. She watched as the man clung to the last strings of life and slowly heard each one's sharp twang as it snapped and sent the man to his grave. She wiped the blood off her knife on the man's shirt and put her boots on methodically.

She pushed open the door and made her way over to the table, put on her jacket and said hurriedly, "We need to leave, now, I'll explain on the way."

The group quickly folded the map and followed Samus onto the windy streets of Chicago.

**A/N: I actually got this chapter done surprisingly fast. I don't know why, but I really like it. I know it's more of a characterization chapter over plot and action, but it's necessary. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed.**


	5. According to Plan

The group quickly walked onto the bustling streets of Chicago. The sun beat down comfortably and Master Hand's clothing choices seemed appropriate for the weather at the time. As Ike looked around, he saw how few people even acknowledged his existence. Back in his universe, people at least had the dignity to say hello before walking off. The people here were too busy with their own thoughts, or reading a paper, or talking on what Zelda called a cell phone. Ike looked one man dressed in formal attire directly in the eye, a friendly expression on his face, and the man just turned away and his step speed increased noticeably. Turning back to where everyone else was, Ike commented, "Lovely city."

"Get used to it," Samus commanded somberly, "It's the way things are in the city. Save your own ass and damn everyone else's." She kicked a rock into the road as she shook her head. For a second she actually seemed to be lost in a myriad of thoughts and her face softened considerably. However, she quickly returned to her senses and her face hardened again, eyes squinting in the harsh sun. She put on her glasses and removed her jacket, slinging it over her shoulder casually. "Alright, let's get started," she stated, sounding just as professional as Ike did.

"Yes," Ike agreed. He pulled out a small map to give out directions. "Samus, you'll head down 59th street with Pikachu and me, but you'll stop at Midway Plaisance Park, while Pikachu and I will investigate the exterior of the University." He turned to where Link and Zelda were standing. "You two will head across 55th to Washington Park, but try to focus around Morgan, understand?"

Zelda nodded but Link spoke up. "I have one question, who told you that you're the leader?"

Ike smirked and said, "I'm the guy who was smart enough to grab a map from the display in the hotel." Link's face dropped and turned red with a mix of anger and embarrassment as Zelda laughed.

Link let out a sigh of frustration and grabbed Zelda's wrist. "Come on," he grumbled. He started to drag Zelda along but stopped when he met resistance.

"Link," Zelda said, "We're going the wrong way."

Link looked at a sign and saw that he was, indeed going the incorrect direction. He had been heading up the street they were currently on, Woodlawn. ("Goddess damn it!") he cursed in a bizarre language that only Zelda could understand.

"How did you manage to find Zelda again?" Samus asked teasingly, causing Link's fists to clench.

"Yes, how did you?" Zelda teased. She pulled out of Link's grasp and walked in front of him, a mischievous expression on her face. Samus joined her, with an equally amused grin, topped off with a plastered on grin.

Link shouted in contempt and yelled, "Will you guys just relax? That was Hyrule, this is Chicago! Goddess!" He sat down on a curb and took a long breath. He was seething a bit, but Pikachu was the only one to try to speak with him.

She lightly put a hand on his shoulder and spoke softly and sweetly. "How about I go with you and Zelda goes with Ike?" she suggested with a comforting smile.

Link put his hands on his knees and stood up. He took a deep breath in and then out and said, "Fine, just don't make fun of me when I do something stupid."

Pikachu giggled and assured, "I promise, I won't…well I'll try not to, it depends on how stupid you are." The rest of the group laughed as Link just readjusted his hat and pushed his square sunglasses up further. With that, Pikachu walked off, in the correct direction, with Link in tow.

Samus shook her head. "That guy and his temper sometimes, damn!" She laughed for no apparent reason and then spoke directly to Zelda and Ike. "The University starts only about a block from where we are, so I'll keep heading down while you guys look there." Zelda and Ike nodded and began to walk off until Samus grasped both of their shoulders and pulled their heads closer to hers so that her mouth was right in their ears. "Just remember," she whispered almost silently, "If you run into anything, use the communicators Master Hand gave us…and don't hesitate." She released the two and then began to walk, almost as if she had never said anything at all.

The three walked down the street, careful not to draw too much attention to themselves. Even if they'd tried, they probably couldn't get people to look at them. From the tired-looking and dirty homeless people, desperately begging for change to the flamboyant drunkards from what could only be described as the result of a rave gone wrong, the city was used to its share of freaks. It wasn't so much the way they were dressed that bothered Ike, but rather that he lacked the familiar weight on his back that lent him strength and security. He felt like he was leaning forward awkwardly from the disappearance of dead weight. He felt so open and so exposed. He didn't have the martial arts and fighting training that Samus and Link did, and he lacked magic like Zelda, and he lacked whatever defense Pikachu could use. The only thing he had was his muscles and his sword, at least that's what most people could tell anyway.

"This is where we leave you," Zelda stated, fishing Ike back into reality. "We'll probably meet up in a little, so tell us if you find anything." Samus nodded and continued her walk. Ike looked at her and noticed how much of a gait she walked with, swinging her hips enticingly with every step. It gave her, not a seductive atmosphere, but a rather intimidating one. The fact that she pulled out a cigarette just added to her tough demeanor, Ike knew that she'd be fine on her own. "So where should we start?" Zelda asked, once more having to draw Ike out of his own mind, a thought not commonly connected with muscle-clad figures such as Ike.

"I don't know, lemme look around." Ike looked at the buildings carefully. They were tall and had a very gothic style of architecture to them. The red brick they were made of masked what kind of advanced technology and theorems were no doubt being studied within its halls. It was the kind of place where geniuses flourished…including mad ones. Ike knew that trying to enter the college would just look stupid and get them thrown out, and could result in their cover being blown to any agents in hiding. He and Zelda would have to find a bench or something and merely observe the comings and goings of all who entered or exited the college. "Let's find a place to sit for a while, close to the entrance," Ike stated.

"Should we split up to get a better view?" Zelda asked casually as she began to walk towards the main gate. She had been doing missions for a while now, but preferred not to lead. Leading from behind the scenes, in a castle, was where she excelled the most. She could make tough decisions and give wise answers, in part due to her piece of the Triforce. However, when it came to making snap decisions on spot, she wasn't the best, and with the pressure of others depending on her, it just made her more nervous.

Ike thought for a moment before saying, "No, it will be better if we just sit together. It will make it less obvious that we're up to something than if we walk together, talk together, and then just suddenly split up to sit on things five feet apart." He smirked as Zelda laughed. Ike had made the notion sound quite ridiculous, but not in an insulting way.

"I suppose you are right," she conceded. "Are you sure you just don't want to sit with me, Ike?" she asked teasingly, earning a light blush that told her she was successful.

Ike's smirk widened and he responded, "I don't know, you didn't particularly fight me, now did you?" He had to admit, at least to himself, that the idea of sitting with Zelda for a while wasn't an unpleasant one.

Zelda began to blush although it was more pronounced against her fair skin. Suddenly, she felt like somebody was watching her. It wasn't a threatening kind of gaze, but rather an unwanted one. It reminded her of when her father had lined up some suitors for her. She gently shoved Ike playfully, but her face was dead serious. "Hold my hand," she whispered.

Ike, reacting to the push, gave a soft punch to the shoulder. His face showed no indication that he knew something was up with Zelda. "Uh-huh, just so you can tease me some more?"

Zelda stiffly shook her head. She then grabbed Ike's hand and held it, rather lovingly. Her face burned with anxiety and guilt. She wanted to let go and sit, but at the same time, a part of her loved how her hand felt with Ike's. He had rather small hands for someone who managed to wield such a large sword, and it was also surprisingly and pleasantly soft. It wasn't as soft as most girls, but it was a sharp contrast from Link's hard and callused hand. "Just hold it until I say so," she commanded, although it truly lacked a lot of conviction.

Ike wasn't blushing as heavily as Zelda, or so it appeared. His bandana covered the blush on his forehead and he wasn't as susceptible to blushing as Zelda was. He felt odd though. A part of him felt simply bizarre for doing this. After all, they had only met less than a week prior and… His thoughts stopped there. He and Zelda were unusually good friends for those who had spent a relatively short period of time together. She wasn't anything like he'd first imagined, which was a selfish, entitled brat, but was instead a good person who seemed to be missing something. Her hand in his felt nice. It was soft and fit perfectly in his, almost as if the two were two halves of a puzzle that were finally connected.

Finally, Zelda said, "Okay, we can let go now." However, the two stayed holding hands for a while. The reluctantly let go, but neither allowed their face to betray their disappointment. Zelda sighed and began to pick up her pace when she realized that they had literally gotten about thirty feet from where they had decided to go. She twisted her hands together, wanting her gloves so that she would at least have something to play with. She would never admit it, even to herself, but she quite enjoyed Ike's presence. He was not only the strongman warrior that everyone seemed to think, and he actually provided her some of the most intellectual conversation of anyone in the mansion.

Ike matched Zelda's pace and in a no time had reached the front of the school. He sat down on a bench just across from it and looked up. The arch was made of some sort of iron and it twirled and glided beautifully. The simplistic designs seemed to accentuate its beauty and showed the true value of minimalism, in Ike's mind. However, the basic intricacies of the arch quickly faded from Ike's mind and another took its place. Zelda. She was sitting next to him, their hips almost touching. She was watching the entrance with greater determination than Ike was. He couldn't help his desire to reach over and simply touch her, even if it was something as simple as tapping her shoulder. Ike really admired Zelda, not only because of her vast intelligence, but also because of her strength. It seemed that people never gave her the time of day when it came to physical things. If they needed something carried and she was right there, they would pass her by in exchange for someone like himself. It was the reason she became a little bit peeved when Ike gave her and Pikachu assignments with Link and himself, respectively. He had seen her work out before, alongside Samus. And although Samus was definitely more athletic and fit than Zelda, they both looked toned and ready to fight. He also admired her will. In the few days he had known her, he'd never seen her give up on anything. If Samus gave her a challenge to lift a certain weight, she would always do it, no matter how hard it was. If Samus, or anyone, offered her anything she didn't want, she would never give in. Even though those were rather pitiful examples, Ike truly believed that in a true scenario the same will would shine forth from the quiet embryo that was Zelda.

"Ike, what is that?" Zelda whispered suddenly, shocking Ike and making him jump a bit. Ike shook himself to clear his head and looked to where Zelda was pointing. A man was running, his head down like he knew a secret, and a hat that was low over his eyes…almost as if to prevent someone from seeing them. "I think that was a member!" Zelda stressed, tugging on Ike's arm as she stood up. "We have to tell Master Hand!" She pulled out the communicator. It was a small orb, painted in the Smash Bros. colors with three colorful buttons on it. The red one, which Zelda pushed, was the on-off switch. The green one was to connect with the others, and the blue one was to connect with Master Hand.

Right as Zelda was about to connect to Master Hand, Ike swiped it from her. Before she could complain, Ike said, "It looks like he's going somewhere, and in a hurry. Let's follow him and see where he goes. If he goes home, we'll call Master Hand, if he doesn't, we may be in for a fight!" Ike said the last line with unexpected glee.

Zelda shook her head. "According to both Master Hand and our plan, when we see activity, we report to him!" She reached for her communicator, but Ike moved it out of her grasp.

He looked around and was thankful that the few people who were out that day weren't at all caring about Ike and Zelda's presence. "Look, I don't really care about the plan."

"You were the one who made it!"

"Yes," Ike conceded, "But part of being a mercenary, which when you think about it we are, is being able to improvise." He chose his words carefully, making sure to not let it slip that he wanted a real fight, to sate Aether's unsavory appetite for bloodshed, to nourish his own flesh-deprived needs.

Zelda tried to protest once more, but a message from Link and Pikachu came through on the communicator. "Guys!" The voice sounded feminine so it was probably Pikachu. "You have to get here, there are at least twelve of them, they're around a lake and they're armed… I think they might be onto us too, they keep looking at us weirdly!"

Pikachu cut off and Samus' voice echoed into it, "I'm on my way. Ike and Zelda, I'll meet you by the entrance to the college, I hope you know a shortcut." With that, Samus' voice ended and Pikachu's started again.

"There's something weird going on here, they're setting something up…and coming closer!" Her voice became an octave higher and she began to speak extremely quickly. "Hurry up guys, they have guns…and they're aiming…" In the background a scream that Ike could recognize as Link's shouted something in the same language he had heard before. Pikachu screamed and then heavy footsteps were heard.

Zelda looked at Ike with a look of pure terror in her eyes. "We have to go, now!" she said, her voice barely louder than a squeak.

More heavy footsteps and Ike and Zelda looked as Samus came up behind them, hardly breathing hard despite her run. Ike wordlessly began to run as Samus and Zelda followed, both hoping that Ike knew where he was going. He followed the path that the suspicious man had taken, including jumping over a small hedge. Samus and Zelda both easily made the leap and started following Ike. Although they were in the park, it was in a more heavily wooded part, trees and roots impeding progress, although Ike seemed to have very little trouble. His large size came in handy as he bulled through the growth. Samus' agile form and quick reflexes from training allowed her to deftly maneuver around most obstacles. Zelda didn't have the agility of Samus or the sheer size of Ike, so she lit small fires on both her hands and burned her way through, careful not to accidentally set the whole place on fire. She burned through several branches before stopping for a second to take off her sandals. Although comfortable, they weren't built for running. When she resumed she had to double-time it due to Samus and Ike's lead.

When they emerged from the forest, the sight shocked them. About twelve people, all with blank eyes and an unusual white garment were all gathered around two people, pointing different guns at them. Link and Pikachu were the two people. Link's sword and shield were in his hands and he was standing protectively in front of Pikachu, who seemed to be crying a bit. A few bullets flew towards them, but they bounced harmlessly off of Link's shield.

Ike tried to remember how to summon Aether. He needed it in his hands, it was his only weapon. Suddenly, a sheath appeared on his back and a heavy sword materialized in his hand, gleaming in the afternoon sun. Ike looked behind him and saw that Samus' Arm Cannon was the only thing she had taken for now, which was probably for the best considering she'd be the first to draw attention to herself…although there didn't seem to be any people around. All Zelda needed was her leather boots, which replaced her sandals in her hand. She quickly pulled them on and two fireballs appeared in her hands.

With a small grunt, she sent them both flying towards the ever closing group of Bringers. They exploded in a flurry of fire and grass, scattering the people, who all took refuge behind a metal structure that looked like a wall with several guns attached to it. They manned the guns and began firing with blinding speed. Bullets flew through the air as Link covered Pikachu as she ran behind the trees that the others were using for cover.

Pikachu gasped for air as she tried to regain her composure. Master Hand never explained how she was supposed to use her powers in this form…or if she even had any! The deafening roar of bullets hitting trees was silenced and the bark finally stopped flying around. Ike looked to his left where Samus and Zelda were standing, occasionally glancing their heads out, only to be gifted with another volley of bullets. When he looked to his right, he saw Pikachu trying to keep calm and Link had pulled a bow and cocked an arrow. He didn't doubt that if he could get a shot off, he'd do well and hit his target.

"Damn it, we can't get a fucking shot off without something getting shot in their fucking head!" Samus shouted in a rage. Her feet were twitchy and she wanted to just run out and start blasting away with her full suit on, but she knew it could only take so many bullets before things started busting and she didn't want to chance it, not with people like Pikachu with them.

"I have an idea," shouted Zelda. "Ike toss me my communicator!" He fished it out of his pocket and threw it to her. She caught it quickly as another spray of bullets responded to her reaching out her hand. She pressed the blue button and waited for Master Hand to answer.

"Hello, Zelda, what have you all found?" he sounded as if he genuinely didn't know what was going on.

"We're stuck. The Bringers have us pinned against trees; literally, can you send any back-up?" Zelda's voice was high and frantic.

"The only fighters that can go out in the field right now are Shade and Alanis, that's all I can send."

"ANYONE!" screamed Zelda.

A snap was heard over the communicator and two flashes appeared, earning a round of applause in the form of bullets slamming against tree trunks. "I wish I could pull you out of there, but you know I can't! Good luck!" Master Hand quickly shut off the communicator, much to the fighters' dismay.

Shade and Alanis were dressed in their normal combat gear. Shade in his overcoat and jeans and Alanis in her dark, skin-tight clothes, and short jacket. The both hid behind trees. "What the hell is going on?" yelled Shade, angry that he'd been teleported without any warning.

"Bringers are attacking us on the other side of the park," Ike responded, his head staying level and calm.

"How far to the other side?"

Ike glanced to the no-man's land that was the park and said, "About a hundred feet, give or take."

Shade's mind worked frantically. "Okay, does anyone have anything indestructible?"

"My shield," answered Link.

"Aether is," Ike called.

Shade nodded, which went unseen by everyone else. "Okay, here's my plan. Ike, Link, and I will charge, taking their fire. Zelda and Samus, I want you two to keep us covered and blast any time you get an open shot. Alanis, Pikachu, you two will rush in once we three have made it!" Shade saw Alanis barely nod as she curled up into a small ball and covered her ears.

"But I-" Pikachu attempted to squeak out but was cut off by Ike's commanding voice.

"On three! One! Two! Three!"

The three warriors dashed out as fast as they could. The bullets restarted their rain of destruction as the glanced harmlessly off of Link's shield. It was big enough that he didn't have to do too much footwork to keep safe. Ike was slowly twisting Aether so that he was actually managing to block two lines of fire with one sword. The bullets seemed to disintegrate against Aether as it was now flaming. Shade has his two swords, Conqueror and Liberator, out and adjusted the according to the patterns that the bullets were making. There were also several columns made of pure shadow that blocked any stray bullets from reaching the girls.

A fireball exploded behind the metal wall as the Bringer screamed and desperately tried to beat out the flames. Several balls of energy flew overhead as Samus laughed with sheer joy. Finally, the three warriors managed to get to the metal wall. They leapt over it, with the exception of Shade, who was now trying to fight off two of the Bringers, both of which were firing Ak-47s at him.

Ike, after leaping over the wall, engaged one of the Bringers. He was larger than the rest and took out a saber, curved a bit at the end. Instead of having nothing on, this man had a mask on with the letter L on it. It was eerily white. Since his eyes were so white, they seemed to blend straight into his mask. Ike and Aether began their deadly dance with the man. He was quick with a sword, which quite surprised Ike. The two struck over and over again, Ike contorting his body to block the incoming blows that L was delivering. Finally, he saw an opportunity. The man swung low and brought his sword up so that it glanced off of Aether. However, he expected Ike to raise his sword up to block, so he went to the left, exposing his right side. Ike hefted Aether and slashed the man's right side, forcing him to the ground as blood spurted from the new wound across his midsection. Ike slammed the pommel of Aether into the man's head and he was knocked unconscious.

Ike wasn't winded, his adrenaline was pumping much too fast for that to happen, but sweat dribbled down his entire body, staining his shirt with disgusting blotches. He observed the battlefield. Shade had managed to take out one of the men he was fighting, but another had joined his weakened buddy. Link was also taking on two of them, keeping them at bay with the glow of the Master Sword. Fireballs, energy beams, missiles, and other such projectiles flew and exploded around the battlefield as Zelda and Samus shot and then took cover.

Ike turned just in time to see a man jump to one of the mounted machine guns. Alanis appeared in front of him and grabbed him harshly with both hands. He screamed a gut wrenching scream as tiny…things…started to come out of Alanis' body and cover him. When his arms were covered, she released him and touched the machine gun, allowing more of the things out and Ike watched with disgust as they seemed to eat the machine gun's barrel to nothing, returning to Alanis soon after. The first batch of things she dispatched returned to her as well and when Ike looked, the man was now lying dead, a look of absolute horror on his face. His arms were gone and there was a hole through his chest where his heart should have been. Alanis faced Ike and then sat down on the grass, rocking back and forth…as if she was a scared child.

"Ike, help!" he heard a girl's voice cry. Pikachu was slowly backing up towards a fence with a woman pointing her pistol at her. Pikachu held up her hands and crouched on the ground. The woman grabbed onto Pikachu's hand and yanked her up so that she stared into the woman's unblinking, blank eyes.

The woman let out a maniacal laugh as she said, "The Lord will be so pleased for such a pretty pretty mind to break!" The woman gripped Pikachu's hand so tight that she could almost feel the bones breaking.

"Let go of me!" Pikachu screamed. This was the second time that day that someone had decided to take advantage of her, and it pissed her off. If only she had back in her old form, she could at least use her abilities. She just imagined the pain of inflicting such a lovely electric shock to the woman holding her. Then, she felt a weird tingle in her hands as the woman began to tremble. Her entire body shook and a foamy substance came out of her mouth. She went limp and fell to the ground, still holding Pikachu's hand. Pikachu removed her hand and looked at it. Electricity jumped from her fingertips and danced around her palms. The same went for her other hand. A giddy grin came onto her face. She gazed at the battle. Six of the Bringers lay dead. Link was fighting one; Shade was facing off against another. Samus had entered the fray with her full battle armor and she was blasting things off every which way, not trying to hit anything, but more so as to cause confusion. Ike was fighting two and Alanis was sitting on the ground, but none dared to get near her. Two people, a man and a woman started to gun at Samus, their powerful handguns causing her to take cover behind a rock. Pikachu's grin was pulled so wide by the invisible strings of joy that it actually began to hurt. She channeled her power into her hands and launched a dazzling display of lightning at the two. The hits struck dead on and the two Bringers fell to the ground, singed and writing in agony.

Samus stood up from her crouch and gave a thumbs up to Pikachu; she could practically see Samus smiling from inside her helmet.

Ike was facing off against two people. One was holding two switchblades, striking with Sonic style speed, but still no match against the integrity of Aether. The other still held his gun, a colt .45, a classic one according to Snake's journals. The man was reloading, so Ike took the advantage to focus solely on the man with the knives. He couldn't get a good angle without leaving himself open to a potentially fatal hit. The blows rained down upon Aether and a few even managed to scratch Ike's hands, but he didn't particularly care, it wouldn't hurt until later anyway. Out of nowhere, Zelda appeared, having teleported directly behind the man. She reached out her hand and with a quick rush of energy knocked the man forward straight onto Aether's tip, piercing his lungs.

Ike smiled at Zelda, but his expression rapidly turned to fear as the man with the gun took aim and fired, hitting Zelda square in the shoulder. It wasn't going to be fatal, but she fell into Ike's arms in surprise, holding the wound carefully. Ike placed his sword in front of her as the man fired two more shots, the second of which ricocheted off his blade and lodged itself in the man's jugular, causing blood to spurt rather sporadically. Zelda, who felt rather tense, slowly loosened in relief. Link had finished off his Bringer and rushed over to where Zelda was laying on Ike's lap, carefully cupping her shoulder, cursing in the strange language that Link would sometimes speak in.

The only one who remained fighting was Shade, although, at this point, he was mostly toying with the Bringer, like a cat with its prey. He only had one of his blades out and the man was out of ammo. He had a tiny knife and was desperately stabbing at Shade, who was casually swinging his sword around to block his blows. "Alright, Shade, give the little fucker an end!" shouted Samus, although she had to admit that it was funny how easily Shade was messing with the man.

"Alright, alright," complained Shade. "You're just like my fiancée, never letting me have any fun with this!" He laughed heartily and then stared into the man's blank eyes intensely. The man stopped his attack as Shade's eyes flashed, literally. They seemed to glow for a moment before the man dropped to the ground, screaming in utter terror. He was clawing at his face and hitting his head against the ground, still screaming. Shade knelt down and lightly touched the man's head. He whispered a few words and the man lost consciousness. Sheathing his sword, Shade walked to where the rest of the group was standing. "Well that was fun!" he said happily, as if he'd just gone on an amusement park ride.

"It's really not the time for humor, especially dark humor," Ike chastised, but he had to admit that the battle was exhilarating. It had been far too long since he'd been in a good fight where his ranks were still full. He assessed the damage each person had sustained. Ike's hands were scratched beyond belief, but he was used to it and they would heal quickly. Samus' suit was a little dented, but with her helmet off, he could tell she didn't care and could easily repair it. Link and Shade both only had a few scratches, although it looked like a stray bullet had grazed Link's ear. Alanis and Pikachu managed to come out unharmed, if a little shaken.

Exhaling deeply, Zelda grunted in pain. "Anyone want to treat the wounded?" she asked, face twisted between indifference and discomfort.

Shade sighed and shrugged innocently. "Sorry, my fiancée could do it if she was here, but I guess basic first aid will have to do until we can get back to the mansion." He looked around at the dead and dying bodies around him and said, "By the way…how do we get back and what do we do with this mess?"

Zelda, although rather comfortable in her current position lifted herself off of the ground and after Samus steadied her, she explained, "We'll leave a communicator here and any evidence will transported back to the mansion. In order to get back we have to wait the time to wear off on the semi-permanent teleportation device."

"In simple terms, please," Pikachu stated with a bewildered look on her face.

"Basically we're stuck here until 11:00 in the morning tomorrow, and then we'll be automatically teleported back to the mansion."

"First things first," Ike demanded, "We need to treat your wound. I know first aid and I have some bandages in my pack." He stood up and relaxed a bit as Zelda removed her hand from her shoulder. He saw that the wound was not deep and improperly placed, most likely due to the assailant's haste in drawing his weapon.

Samus handed Zelda off to Link, who was saying something in his own language. She pulled out her communicator as her suit vanished from her body, leaving her only with a laser gun attached to a holster and belt. Ike noticed everyone's weapons were disappearing. Link's sword and shield were gone along with Shade's blades and his own sword. Samus laid the communicator in the grass and pressed all three buttons at once.

"Get out of range," she barked. Everyone speed-walked away from the beeping device and in a flash everything was gone, as if the park had never been touched. The bodies were gone, the metal wall had vanished, and it seemed as if the grass had gotten somebody to soak up all of the blood on it. "…Could really use one of these…" Samus muttered to herself so only Pikachu heard.

She didn't want to know what Samus could need it for.

Ike released some tension in his shoulders as he saw people were coming from everywhere now. Buildings, other streets, and even the park now swarmed with the ravenous city crowd. But Ike had one thought. _Where were they a few minutes ago, during the battle?_ He rolled his shoulder in its socket and said to Samus, "Give Zelda your jacket to cover up that wound until we get back to the hotel and I can bandage it."

Samus nodded and gingerly rested the leather jacket over Zelda.

Zelda winced as the soft inner side of the fabric laid on the bullet hole, sending a small sting that permeated through her whole body. "Can we go now?" she complained, her tone indicating both hurry and jest.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

When the group arrived at the hotel, one more room had been mysteriously rented out. After a few arrangements it was agreed that Ike and Shade would share a room, Samus and Pikachu would share a room, Link, despite his constant protests that Zelda take it, would have the single room, and Alanis and Zelda would share.

The seven stood outside in the hallway, blocking the non-existent traffic. Samus said her farewells and good nights and eagerly shoved her magnetic key in the slot. She opened the door, ran to the bed of the far side and practically jumped inside. Pikachu laughed as she closed the door and watched Samus gleefully caressing the bed's comforter. "Oh I need this after a battle," she moaned into the bed.

"It's only 8:00," Pikachu chided. "Don't you want to watch TV or something?"

Samus pushed herself up and placed her arms beneath her so that she was supported by her forearms. "No, I want to get into my nightclothes, turn off the light, and attempt to go to sleep!" She had said the words without a trace of hate or annoyance. It almost came across as lighthearted.

"Ugh, you're no fun!" Pikachu prodded, a smile tugging at the ends of her lips. "Can I at least watch TV for a while?" She laid down on her bed with her legs hanging over the edge. She heard Samus grunt apathetically and she held up her hands in front of her face. Her hands sparked slightly as electricity danced in between her fingers. Being human was so strange to her. It was such a foreign body, as if she'd taken it from another. The only thing that really got to her, though, was walking on two long legs. She was used to either walking on all fours or taking short and stubby steps on two legs. She reached over to the nightstand and picked up the remote. It felt better in her human hands that nestled in between her legs as a Pokemon.

Samus lugged herself off of the bed and reached into her pack. She pulled out her t-shirt and shorts and walked into the bathroom. She closed the door and Pikachu heard it lock. She sighed heavily and thought back to the fight earlier that day. Before the others had arrived, she had been cowering behind Link like some scared Pichu. He had thrust himself headfirst into danger just so she could be safe. Then there was Ike, who willingly took sprays of bullets, but just deflected them off of his sword as if he'd been doing so his whole like. Zelda was so sure of her abilities. The way she wielded her magic came easily to her and her level head simply added elegance to her battle style. Alanis scared the heck out of her, the way she effortlessly tore a man and gun apart. Shade was so sure of himself and seemed to know exactly what to do despite being warped there unexpectedly. Then there was Samus. She was itching to run, Pikachu could see it. Her feet were twitching and her hand never left her weapon. Her eyes were fierce and bloodthirsty, full of confidence that out of everyone there, she would be the one to come out alive. Something had held her back, something that overcame her reckless nature. Pikachu didn't know what, but she didn't have the gall to ask. Pikachu sighed dejectedly once more. She was worthless in battle. She had only managed to get into this whole mess due to Samus' stubbornness and she had only discovered what she could really do in an act of desperation…everyone else knew how to handle themselves.

The door opened and the light from the bathroom flooded Pikachu's eyes before a click told her that Samus had turned off the lights. "You alright?" Samus asked, unsure where the care had come from.

Pikachu turned towards Samus, who happened to be next to a mirror. It showed Pikachu's face, drained of color and her tired eyes. "Just tired, I guess," the smaller girl mumbled.

Samus chuckled and said, "Well Master Hand made sure to give you some clothes for the night, so get changed and we can both go to sleep!" Samus walked over to her bag and leaned over, placing her used clothes messily inside and pulling out a bright red shirt, with a Pikachu on it no less and some yellow pants. "He really needs to work on varying up colors," Samus commented, causing Pikachu to giggle.

Samus threw the clothes onto Pikachu's lap and she stood up and entered the bathroom, locking the door like Samus had. She placed the apparel on a marble-topped sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She lifted up her shirt over her head carefully and deposited on the floor. When she looked again in the mirror, she saw that she was still wearing a bra. Deciding not to tackle it, she quickly removed her skirt and pulled the pants on over her legs. It was comfortable and soft, perfect for sleeping in. She looked at her bra, which held her newly acquired breasts. She blushed at her own body as she tried to unhook it. After several failed attempts, she tried to simply pull her arms through it, but ultimately failed, getting one caught between the strap and her body.

Panicking and blushing harder that anyone, she made her way over to the door and unlocked it nervously. "Samus," she called timidly.

"What?" came an annoyed reply.

Pikachu heard the squeaking of bed springs and imagined Samus sitting up from trying to sleep. "Could you…help me…please," she squeaked out, just loud enough for Samus to hear.

Footsteps crossed the room and Samus opened the door saying, "What could you need-" She cut off mid-sentence. A grin grew on her face as she saw Pikachu, half naked, caught up in a bra, and with one of her breasts hanging out. She then outright laughed, clutching her side in pain.

"Please," Pikachu begged. She wasn't hurt by Samus' laughter, if the situation had been reversed, she would've been laughing as well.

The bounty hunter was in hysterics, tears falling from her face. By the time she had calmed down, Pikachu couldn't help but begin to feel embarrassed. Wiping the wetness from her face, Samus moved close to Pikachu. "I'm sorry, this is just too funny. I'd imagine this is how difficult some males find these things to be. Here, let me help."

Samus managed to quickly get the mouse turned girl free before showing her how to properly do it with her own bra. Pikachu blushed heavily and hung her head, defeated. "Hey," Samus said quietly, placing her hand gingerly on Pikachu's chin and lifting it up. "Don't worry about it, we all had to learn. Believe me; I'd be fucked if I became a Pokemon."

Pikachu smiled and Samus pulled her into a quick hug before disappearing back into their dark room.

(=)(=)(=)(=)

Zelda sat patiently in a chair as she waited for Ike to arrive. Her wound was still bleeding, but she had been taught long ago never to show a face of pain or sadness, even if hurt physically, mentally, or emotionally. She had Samus' jacket pressed against the entry wound, helping to soak up some of the blood.

Alanis had vanished inside the bathroom, locking herself inside. After a while, Zelda became a little worried, especially when she could hear voices from inside the bathroom. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, except for one line from Alanis' somewhat husky voice. "Did I do well, Doctor?" Her voice was melancholic and small.

Zelda did not hear the rest of the conversation as Ike burst in, roll of bandages in hand. "Sorry," he breathed, "Got caught up talking to Shade. Did you know he has a fiancée?"

The princess gave him a critical, yet playful look. "No, did you know I have a bullet in my shoulder?" Ike gave a nervous laugh as he pulled up a chair and carefully removed the blood-soaked jacket. The wound wasn't deep and missed anything important, but it still would be a pain in the ass until Zelda got back to the mansion where there were better healing supplies. "Anything you can do?"

Ike nodded and unraveled one of the bandages and a small square pad of absorbent material. "Okay," he stated, "Let's get started. Now…I need you to take your shirt and somehow get it out of my way. I'll need your shoulder and some of your arm"

Zelda blushed heavily as she pulled down one side of her tank top; pulling her arm through the socket and holding the fabric up with her other arm to keep herself covered. It left one arm completely bare with the other holding up her shirt. "Will this do?" she asked calmly, although her face raged with blush.

"Yes, that'll work," Ike said like the professional he was. He wasn't viewing Zelda in a sensual way with her clothing like that, but rather as a patient that deserved his utmost respect. He softly placed the pad over the wound, glancing quickly at Zelda's face to gauge her reaction before continuing to press, applying just the right amount of pressure. He held one hand there and with the other reached for his gauze. He began to wrap around Zelda's arm and up her shoulder. The entire time he remained focused and she remained quiet and motionless. He finished her up and tapered off the end and tucked it into the already wrapped gauze. Breathing loudly he joked, "My lady, you be done!"

Zelda laughed and put her shirt all the way on, being careful as not to disturb the newly wrapped hole. "Thank you, my mercenary!" she replied just as comically. Ike stood up and stretched for a moment before looking at the clock. The time read 9:00. Zelda stood as well and gave Ike a quick hug with her good arm. "In all sincerity, thanks for patching me up. No one else seems to be able to do it."

Ike returned her hug, avoiding the covered area and answered, "It's no problem, and I have no idea why anyone else can't do it!"

The princess gracefully sat down on the bed and invited Ike to sit with her on with a gesture of the hand. As he sat down Zelda speculated, "Link is used to having potions, but he didn't think we'd need them, Samus is used to technology doing this kind of stuff, Pikachu wouldn't know how to do this, Alanis…I don't know anything about her, and Shade seems perfectly capable."

Ike scratched his head and removed her sweaty headband, shoving it in his pocket. "Shade was talking with his fiancée when I left."

"How did he contact her?" Zelda asked with a scrunched up face.

Ike chortled, "Careful, your face will get stuck like that." The princess giggled and relaxed her face. "You'd still be beautiful, but Shade did it with that creepy shadow magic he has. He opened a portal or something and I could see the girl, Shine, I think was her name."

Zelda nodded, making sure not to show her flattered face at Ike's compliment. "Shade is a bit mysterious isn't he? I'm sure he has a reason though, everyone does."

_You don't know how mysterious and creepy he is, _Ike thought to himself. "Anyway, I'll re-check your shoulder in the morning before we leave, so goodnight."

He lifted himself off of the bed's frame and rolled his shoulder. As he prepared to walk out, he reeled around as Zelda gave him one last hug. "Goodnight, and you have my thanks, again."

Ike smiled down at Zelda and wrapped his arms lightly around Zelda. The two stayed locked together, feeling as if they could sleep just like that. Finally, the bathroom door clicked and the two snapped out of their stupor. Ike stared at Zelda and she stared back before both walked off without a word.

Zelda laid down in her bed, shutting off the light as Ike shut the door. She had felt so comfortable in his arms. He was a big man, but actually rather gentle and her head seemed to fit right on his shoulder, in the crook of his neck. She sighed quietly as she draped her sheets over herself, cautiously watching her injury.

She settled down and began to drift into her dreams right as the light from the bathroom illuminated part of the room. Zelda's bed was closer to the bathroom and she watched as Alanis' shadow appeared in the doorway. She quickly shut off the light and dashed over to her side of the room. Zelda blinked as Alanis crouched behind her bed. The Hylian rubbed her eyes once more as she saw a faint blue glow emitting from behind the furniture. Alanis stood up and Zelda closed her eyes, though the blue light still was fresh in her mind. After a few seconds the creak of springs ceased and Zelda opened her eyes slightly. She saw intricate designs that seemed almost mechanical flow down Alanis' arms that were hugging her body. A chip in her shoulder blade stood out against the rest, but was partially covered by a black, body hugging shirt. The almost cyan luminescence gave Alanis an almost alien quality.

Alanis' voice shocked Zelda as she said, "Please stop staring… I know that I'm a monster."

**A/N: Wow, this is the longest chapter I have ever done in a story; it's even longer than some of my one-shots! I really like this chapter as we see some more characterization, some action, and some romance. All said, please review, I would like to know what I'm doing well and what I need to improve upon. Also, if you flame me, just know that all you'll do is make me laugh.**

**One last bit of news, I posted a new poll on my profile that will impact the story significantly, but I will close it after about chapter 10 or somewhere around there, so please vote!**


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